


The God Squad of Garrison High

by noitsbeckyrosenwinchester



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Angst, Bad Puns, Blackmail, Bullying, Car Accidents, Claustrophobic Dean, Dean is an emo theatre kid, F/M, First Kiss, First Time, Fist Fights, Fluff, Homophobic Language, Humor, Implied/Referenced Underage Drinking, M/M, Mentions of Blood, Nerd Dean, Pining, Popular Castiel, Secret Relationship, everyone is problematic except Charlie, kind of crack, kinda chaotic tbh, obligatory record player, rickrolls
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-02
Updated: 2017-06-09
Packaged: 2018-04-02 11:28:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 30
Words: 52,833
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4058311
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/noitsbeckyrosenwinchester/pseuds/noitsbeckyrosenwinchester
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Two cliques, both (un)alike in dignity,<br/>In Garrison High School, where we lay our scene,<br/>From ancient grudge break to new mutiny,<br/>Where shipping wars makes shipping hands unclean.<br/></p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Angels Are Dicks

**Author's Note:**

> So this is my first full length fanfic, and because I kind of got into a pattern of rushing to write and post things, know that this work is almost constantly being edited and revised, due to some plot holes that I only see later and also just grammar mistakes and other slight improvements. Please be patient and I'm sorry if any of this fic turns out confusing because of these things that get randomly changed, but it's not anything major. Thanks for reading!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to Hell.

_"Hell's Bells!_

_Ooo, you got me ringin'_

_Hell's Bells!"_

 

The sixteen year-old sang to himself, eyes closed, head bobbing and completely carefree and listening to his iPod at a ridiculous volume as he walked down the halls of Garrison High School. He was halfway from his locker to Physics (which he was failing) when he felt himself slammed against the wall, books knocked on the white and gold tiles, (it was ugly, but that's usually customary for school colors), and his earbuds had predictably fallen out, allowing him to hear the jeers from his classmates.

"Out of the way, bitch," Michael said coolly, moving on, his snickering redhead girlfriend, Anna, linked on his arm. Gabriel walked backwards to keep up with them, amused as he watched their victim fumbling with his notebooks. Only three weeks into the school year, and old habits were already showing up.

 _'Son of a bitch,’_ he thought, as the rush of students passed by, like they enjoyed the view. They probably did, considering his tormentors were head of the God Squad. At least, that's the name someone gave to them sarcastically at one point, and everyone decided to roll with it. They liked it too, they were just that pretentious.

"Dean! You okay?" Charlie rushed over to him, picking up his books for him and helping him up.

"Yeah. Yeah, Charlie I'm fine." He gave his leather jacket a shake and took his books back, and made a mental note to start carrying his stuff in a backpack like a normal person from now on.

"You sure, dude? You like you might've hit your head or something-" she began to ramble until Dean swatted her hand away from his forehead.

"Yes! Jesus, Charlie, I'm _fine_!" he raised his voice. She was worse than his mother sometimes.

"Okay, okay!" she backed off.

It wasn't unheard of for her to be so protective over him. Charlie Bradbury had been his best friend since eighth grade, when Dean took notice of her Batman T-shirt and they'd hit it off right away. They started dating shortly after, until Charlie came out as lesbian in freshman year. (Dean thanked God daily that they were on good terms. He didn't know what he would do without her.)

"I hate those guys. You know, they have no right to treat you like that." She changed the subject back on their rivals.

"You think I don't know that?" Dean snorted.

"No of course you know that. We all do. What I mean is just... I'm surprised no one has said anything. One of us should. I mean we could bring it up to a teacher or something or- I don't know." she sighed.

Dean leaned against the wall, clutching his notebook by his side. "Nah, I mean, what good would it do? They don't do anything enough to get in trouble. Just enough to make people feel shitty."

"They literally just slammed you into a wall. For like the 627th time in the past three years. Pretty sure that should qualify for getting in trouble! They're bullies, Dean!"

"They're dicks! You can't punish someone for just being a dick. So can we drop it, please?" He was about to continue before he saw the unmistakable you-are-so-impossible look on her face.

"Come on, let's get to class," she sighed, before patting his shoulder and walking the rest of the way to his class with him. 

***

Later at lunch, the two of them found Benny at their usual table in the far corner of the cafeteria. Charlie plopped her tray next to him and sat down, and Dean did the same across from them. They went through their usual greeting before Charlie produced a green notebook and pouch of color pencils from her bag and settled down to finish her most recent project. Dean leaned over to try and see who this character was that she was sketching.

"Ah, and who are we working on today, my Queen of the Queers?" Dean smirked.

"Finishing touches on Dorothy Gale, Wicked Witch hunter." she said, not looking up from darkening the ends of a braid.

Dean's eyebrows perked up. "Dorothy Gale. Like, Oz Dorothy?" He asked in surprise. Charlie hummed in response.

"Looks a lil' old to be Dorothy..." Benny cut in, noticing the mature figure taking up the page.

"Uh, that's because she _is_ older. Duh. Do you really think she'd be going around swinging an axe at witches if she were still, like, nine years old?" she said. "Wait... Anyone know where Jo is?" she asked, noticing the missing member of their group.

Before either of them could answer, a fourth lunch tray was set down next to Dean's.

"Hey guys!"

"Hey Garth..." the three mumbled in unison, not even pretending to sound nice anymore. Dean grabbed Garth’s hand and threw it off of his shoulder not long after it had landed there.

"Aww, don't sound so down, fellas!" Garth said in his ever-carefree voice. He leaned across the table and gestured for them to lean in. When they obliged, he shared the newest gossip in a whisper that was louder than it should have been. He was always enthusiastic about whatever was happening in the lives of his classmates, even when this particular group couldn't care less.

"Hey, did you hear about Gabe? I heard he's got some real beef with his brother lately. He's totally jealous about Meg. Can you believe it?" Garth laughed.

“Wow, that’s… that’s totally shocking, Garth,” Charlie rolled her eyes.

“Right? Gosh, if those two broke up, could you believe what-”

“Alright, no offense buddy, but I really don’t care about who’s dating who. _Especially_ in the God Squad.” Dean cringed at the sound of his own voice when he said this to him. He didn’t mean to be rude, (they were friends after all), but it had gotten to the point where you were either completely blunt with Garth or he would never get the message.

Garth shrugged, pretending not to be hurt. “Fine, I mean, I’m just trying to keep you in the know,” before taking his tray and joining his girlfriend, Becky, a few tables away.

Dean fell silent after that for the rest of lunch. If he was being completely honest, maybe he did care just a _little_ bit about the relationships. Of course he would never admit that to his friends, or god forbid, the reason _why_ he cared at all.

When it came time to go back to their classes, Dean threw his backpack over his shoulder and snuck a glance at the God Squad's table. He had narrowed picking out the mess of dark hair down to a science. Sure enough, when he looked, there was Cas Novak, flashing a smile as bright as the sun, laughing with his friends, not being bothered by anyone or anything.

Dean made sure to limit his glances to make sure no one- especially his friends- would notice. They would never let him live it down. That is, if they would even decide to talk to him after that. Saying anything about the God Squad other than trash talk was extremely taboo with them. They had agreed on that years ago. He hadn't even come out to his friends yet, and if they found out that he had a crush on one of the popular kids, it would be considered a double-double-cross, which made sense in their unwritten rule book somehow.

He just... couldn’t help it. On one Thursday of freshman year, between third and fourth period, (Dean swore to himself he would always remember that day,) Cas had waited behind until no one was watching to help him up after Gabriel had tripped him for the first time. It was the first and only time they had interacted, just the two of them, but that was all it took for Dean to notice how blue his eyes were, and how amazing his voice sounded when he asked "Are you okay?", and how strong his hands felt pulling him up, and-

_Shit. Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit._

He had been staring too long, and now Cas was looking at him. No, not just looking, _smiling_ at him. Dean felt like his heart was about to fly right out of his chest with how hard it was pounding. Part of him wanted to drop everything, run to Canada and never look back. The other part of him wanted to just grow a fucking pair and talk to him. Between those two, Canada sounded like the better option. Fuck, Cas was really looking at him. Dean wanted to actually do something. Anything at all that might seem cool. Scratch that- anything that didn’t make him look like a raging fucking loser. Instead, he just raised his hand up and awkwardly waved at him. Looks like he couldn’t even do _that_ right.

And then a miracle happened. Cas _laughed_. Not the sinister, ridiculing laugh that most people directed at him when he was hit with a spitball, but more of a giggle was the only way Dean could describe it.

He took the feeling of the blush creeping into his cheeks as his cue to leave the cafeteria, nearly running to save himself from any further embarrassment. He caught up with Charlie and Benny later, hoping to God they wouldn't question anything.

***

**To: Mom**

**\---b home at 4. 1st meeting 4 drama club---**

Dean texted his mother after school once he made sure none of his friends were around to see the message. It wasn’t something he thought his friends would be mad at him for doing, but he preferred to keep his interest in theatre to himself. He took a step forward, ready to make his way to the theatre classroom, when Balthazaar ran past him, “accidentally” knocking Dean forward, which in turn sent his phone flying across the floor before it could reach his pocket. He cursed while dropping to his knees to search for it, hoping no one had stepped on it while running to the bus.

“Aha!” Dean was maybe a foot away from picking up his phone when a hand scooped it up. Dean’s eyes followed the hand up to it’s owner, trying to put a name to the face, but he couldn’t. This kid must have been completely new to town, and by his arrogant smirk as he waved the phone in the air in front of Dean and asked “This yours?”, Dean knew he wanted to be as far away from him as possible.

“Yeah, now would you mind giving it back?” he straightened himself and held out a palm.

“Perhaps,” the boy spoke with a thick British accent. What, was he an exchange student now, too? “What might you give me in return?”

“How ‘bout I spare you the ass kicking, how does that sound?” Dean spat back. He had dealt with enough bullshit today and wasn’t going to put up with some pretentious Brit right now.

"Big talk, coming from the one who with the black eye." The boy looked him over. “What’s your name?”

“Dean,” he said, not wanting to carry out a conversation further than he had to.

“I like you, Dean. We should do this again sometime,” he winked.

Dean rolled his eyes.

“You can call me Crowley, by the way.” he said. He tossed back the phone as he shuffled past Dean and out the front doors of Garrison High. Dean watched him suspiciously, and headed to drama club before he could get any later.


	2. Brother Knows Best

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! (Or girls, or crystal gems, I don't judge.) So, I'm seeing all the lovely comments y'all are sending me, and it's encouraged me to spend my first day of summer finishing and posting chapter 2! Yes, I realize that this chapter is somewhat uneventful, especially in the beginning, but it was necessary. Don't worry though! Things really pick up in the third chapter, even though it's really short. Still, I hope you enjoy it!

The door slammed behind Dean when he walked through the front door of his house.

"Mom! Sam! I'm home!" he called, and met Mary in the living room. "Hey, mom," he mumbled, leaning down and hugging her.

"Hey, sweetie," she said softly and smiled. When she stood back and looked at him, she gaped at the bruise blooming above his left eye. "What happened?" she asked, and Dean could hear the fury building behind her voice.

"It's nothing, Mom," he sighed, frustrated with how many times they must have had this conversation. "I just... ran into a wall, okay? I wasn't looking and I hit my head." he pulled a cover story out of his ass and pushed past her into the kitchen to get a snack.

"Oh, no. Don't you lie to me," she said firmly. "It was those kids again, wasn't it? You didn't just run into that wall, you were shoved. Now which one was it?" she asked, not even trying to hide her anger anymore.

"Mom, please," Dean started to argue, but when he looked up from his bag of barbecue chips and saw the most intimidating look on her face, his head hung low as he shamefully whispered: "Michael."

"I _knew_  it!" Mary exploded, then reached for her phone. "I'm calling the school. This _has_ to stop. _Now_."

"No, come on, don't-" he got out of his chair and put his hand over the phone before she had the chance to dial.

"Why not?!"

"Because do you know how much worse it'll be if I have _mommy_ to come to the rescue? No. I'm not doing it." Dean snapped.

"What's going on?" Sam chimed in from behind after running down the stairs. "Dude, what happened to your face?"

Dean rolled his eyes. "It's nothing, Sammy. Don't worry about it. You too," he turned back to their mom. "Next time they try something, I'm standing up to 'em. I promise," he smiled.

"Oh! Do you need me to help you beat someone up?" Sam chirped. He wasn't for fighting most of the time, but he would pick a fight with anyone who dared to mess with Dean.

Dean smiled at his baby brother. "How about you hold him down while I throw the punches?" he laughed, but still completely serious about his offer. Sam's smile widened, and he had opened his mouth to say something about hunting the son of a bitch down before Mary cut him off.

"No, no, no! There will be no fighting in this family!" Mary interjected before they got into scheming as they tended to do. "And you better!" She turned back to Dean. "And you know you said that last year, and the year before that, and so far you haven't kept that promise. Now," she shook her head, "grab an ice pack, go upstairs and get that homework done," she nodded to the stairs and Dean went up to his room. "That goes for you too!" she turned on her youngest, who was now lounging on the couch in the living room.

"What?" Sam asked innocently in reply to her pointed stare. Dean smiled in his room when he heard Sam's groan of mock agony.

He didn't bother closing the door before he flopped face down on his bed, praying to whatever god was out there that Sam wouldn't come running into his room asking questions, but as usual, his prayers didn't seem to be heard.

Dean cringed as Sam's footsteps pounded up the stairs, and groaned when he felt Sam's weight on the side of his bed. He really wanted to be alone.

"What is it Sammy?" Dean huffed, and readjusted to support himself on his side.

Sam sat cross-legged on the corner of Dean's bed, frowning down at his hands. "I kinda need your help with something," he confessed shyly. When Dean didn't answer, Sam took it upon himself to continue. "You've um... You've had girlfriends, right?"

" _A_ girlfriend, yes," Dean confirmed, suspicious of where this was heading.

"Well... I was wondering if you could help me to uh... Get one?"

"Woah, woah, woah!" Dean but him off. "Where is this coming from?"

Sam huffed, before throwing himself next to Dean on the bed, staring at the ceiling. "Well... There's this girl..." he continued.

"Yeah I figured that much," Dean narrowed his eyes at Sam. Not in a disapproving or mean way, but merely for the fact that Dean had never seen his little brother like this before. "What's her name?"

Sam huffed. "Jess," he squeaked out, like it was a stab in the heart just to say it.

Dean sighed. "I'm sorry, Sammy. Why haven't you talked to, I don't know, Mom about this? Or Kevin?"

"Are you kidding me? Mom would have a conniption and Kevin thinks the whole thing is stupid."

Dean rubbed his forehead in exasperation before agreeing to help him. "Alright, alright. This girl have a boyfriend?" he asked. He wasn't exactly sure how to help Sam- hell, the only girlfriend he had had turned out to be his lesbian best friend- but that wouldn't stop him from trying.

"No."

"Huh. Well that's good news for you, isn't it?" Dean tried to get his brother to look on the bright side.

"I guess so..."

"So what's the problem? Do you know if she likes you?"

"I don't know. I've only talked to her once."

Dean held a finger in the air, thinking. "Hold on. Did she talk to you or did you talk to her?"

“I don’t remember, it was kinda a long time ago. I _think_ she talked to me,” he recalled.

“And?”  Dean prompted.

“And what?” Sam asked, confused.

Dean rolled his eyes. “What did you talk about? Did you crack any jokes? Did she laugh?  Give me some context here! Something to work with!”

“I don’t know, okay?! She- she came over to me and just started talking to me and I tried to- you know- be smooth- be like you- and I screwed it up and I made a fool of myself and she laughed and-” Sam covered his face with his hands.

Dean paused, then couldn’t help but laugh at how oblivious his brother was. He hadn't had much experience with girls and actually dating, but he knew enough about crushes in general to know that this Jess girl _definitely_ had a crush on Sam.

"What?" Sam asked, offended.

"She likes you, dude! She's totally got the hots for you!" Dean explained like it was the most apparent thing in the world.

"Wait- what? How do you know that?"

"Just trust me on this! You gotta make a move, trust me," Dean instructed.

“And just how am I supposed to do that?”

“Fuck if I know. You know her better than I do, and hell, my girlfriend turned out to be lesbian. And she asked _me_ out.”

“Then why are you saying she likes me?!” Sam exploded.

“I may not know everything about girls, but I know crushes as well as anyone. Go get her, Tiger.” Dean grinned at his little brother, who sighed heavily and walked out of the room.

Dean sighed as he watched his brother exit. Little Sammy, already about to go get his first girlfriend. (That was if he would take Dean’s advice and actually do something about the situation.) He waited until Sam closed the door behind him to lie back down on his bed. He couldn’t help but feel dejected at the thought that his eighth grade brother might actually get in a real relationship before him. How was that possibly fair in the slightest?

He rolled over onto his stomach, burying his face in his pillow. Flashbacks to earlier that same day kept flooding his mind. Cas looking at him. Smiling at him. And then the realization came back to Dean’s mind that it couldn’t possibly have meant anything. Even if Cas was gay, and single, there was no way he would go for a guy like Dean. The utter loser that he was, Cas would never stoop that low. Dean felt tears stinging at his eyes. He wasn’t going to cry, he told himself. He _never_ cried, especially not over _boys_. He wasn’t some twelve year old girl, dammit.

Yet here he was.

Dean jumped when he heard the knock on his door. “Yeah?” he called, rolling over onto his back and rubbing his red eyes as Sam opened the door.

“Hey, Mom’s ordering pizza. Do you want pepperoni or...” Sam started as he entered his room, but stopped short. He closed the door behind him and sat back down on the corner of the bed, assuming the “tell me everything” position. “What’s up?”

“Nothing, Sam. It’s nothing,” he tried to wave him off. When Sam didn’t respond, he lifted his arm off his eyes slightly to peek at him. He groaned when he saw his little brother sitting there, staring at him, waiting for an explanation.

“Ugh, you're not going to leave until I talk, are you?” he asked tiredly.

“Nope,” Sam shook his head.

Dean sighed. “Do we really have to do this?”

“Yup.”

“Now?”

“Absolutely.”

“No.”

Sam whined in frustration. “Why not?” He flopped on his back, his weight causing Dean to bounce on the mattress slightly. He was only in eighth grade, but he was growing like a fucking weed, and Dean did not have time to adjust to the fact that his baby brother was already getting this big. “C’mon, Dean. Tell me!”

Dean sighed deeply. This was the last conversation he wanted to have with Sam. Ever. But, he bit the bullet because he knew that the trying to hide information from Sam was like a Chinese finger trap- the more you try, the more you get stuck. “You know how I said… I know crushes as well as anyone?”

“You literally said that like fifteen minutes ago. Of course I remember.”

“Shut up, bitch,” Dean quipped.

“Jerk.”

Dean stopped at this. What if he told Sam and they never had moments like this again? What if Sam found out Dean was bisexual and wanted nothing to do with him anymore? He looked back at Sam to see him smiling in encouragement, waiting for him to continue, just so he could understand how to help his big brother. Then Dean found himself wondering why he was even scared at all.

“Is it your crush?” Sam asked in a sing-song voice, teasing him.

Dean flushed.

A knowing smile crept onto Sam's face. "Awe!"

"Shut up," Dean groaned and turned to lay on his stomach.

“Come on, Dean this isn’t fair. I talked to you about my crush! I even asked you for help. The least you can do is tell me her name. And hey, I’m your brother. Who am I gonna tell?” Sam pouted, trying to pull a response out of Dean.

Reluctantly, Dean rolled back to his side for air (though he would much rather suffocate and die right there).

“That’s the thing, Sammy. It’s not… a her,” he winced. He watched as Sam’s expression went from frustration to sudden understanding.

“So _that’s_ why you didn’t want to tell me,” Sam said with a quiet amazement, more to himself than to Dean. He huffed then refocused on the subject at hand. “Alright, so what’s _his_ name?”

Dean propped himself up on his elbows and looked at his brother in disbelief. “Wait, so that’s it? Just, ‘yeah okay what’s his name’?”

Sam let out a small laugh. “Dean, you’re my big brother. You really think I’m gonna freak out and drop all respect for you just because you like dick?”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever,” Dean laid back on his bed, not forgetting to fling a pillow at Sam’s face. “Just thought you’d have more of a reaction, that’s all.”

“What, you think I’ve never met a non-hetero person before? And stop changing the subject. What’s his name?” Sam pushed.

Dean groaned into the mattress. “You really want me to talk about this?”

“I just walked in on you crying. Clearly you are _way_ too hung up on this guy. You _need_ to talk about it,” Sam said.

“Yeah, no thanks," he scoffed, "I went three years without talking about it, I think I can handle it,” he mumbled.

“Holy shit, Dean! You’ve liked this guy for three freaking years?! Why the  _hell_ haven't you told me?!” Sam exploded, voice cracking.

“Fine! Alright? Fine! His name is Cas, okay?!” Dean blurted out, steaming. 

“Yes! I am happy now! Thank you for telling me! Do you feel any better now?” Sam continued with a legendary bitch face.

“No! I do not feel better! Why the fuck would I feel better?!”

“I just thought it might help you to get some of it off your chest after lugging that shit around for three years and- I’m assuming- not telling your friends! Have you told them?”

Dean stopped and took a deep breath. If this conversation went on any longer, he felt like he was going to stab someone.

Sam looked away, shaking his head. “You haven’t…” He got up and turned around to leave. “Okay, well, if you ever change your mind and decide you wanna, you know, actually trust someone… I’ll be here. Have fun with your unresolved sexual tension,” he bit and started to turn the doorknob.

“Sam, wait,” Dean stopped him, sitting up. “You tell anyone about this, I will shoot you, then shoot myself for shooting you, _and then_ come back and haunt your ass. Understand?”

“Can’t haunt me if I’m already dead!”

Dean ran a hand over his face. _‘Fucking semantics…’_ he thought. “You wanna test that theory?”

“Yeah. Sure, Dean.” Sam said and walked out.

“AND I WASN’T CRYING!”


	3. Pros and Cons of a Punch In the Face

That Thursday, Zachariah- Michael's most devout minion- decided he wanted to try and break his record for how many spitballs he could hit the Nerd Herd with in just the first class period, which would prove difficult due to the current record of 30. That Thursday was also the day Dean decided he wasn’t taking this bullshit anymore. Walking down the hall, he put his headphones in and hit play, blasting the volume to drown out the world. Mouthing the words, he closed his locker and headed to his second period class, doing his best to keep his thoughts confident. Unfortunately, he didn't have much time for that.

_"This is home,_

_This is Mean Street._

_This is home-"_

BAM! Dean felt a hand over his face and once again found himself acquainted with the wall, making it a record for how early in the day the torment started. Usually this wasn't until around lunchtime. Dean had dropped his books on the floor, but decided to leave them- he was too pissed for that right now. He looked up and saw Michael walking by with his hand still hanging in the air, and felt the rage boiling up inside him.

He scrambled to his feet and straightened his leather jacket. His breath almost faltered, but after a second, his mind went blank as he shouted: "Hey asshole!"

It was as if the entire world went silent. All Dean could hear was the thrumming of his heart in his ears, and it worsened when Michael slowly turned around with a chilling glare.

".... What did you just call me?" he said, moving towards him. Dean took a deep breath and held his head high for the first time he could remember. His breath didn't catch, he didn't shrink in fear. All that happened was a swell of pride in his chest (and a _tad_ of arrogance). A huge cluster of students had gathered to see who would throw the first punch. Benny and Charlie stood silently, their mouths hanging open at what they were witnessing. Benny didn't say anything, but pulled out his phone and hit record.

Michael was only two feet away from him now. He walked closer in an attempt to intimidate- but it didn't work. Not today.

Dean held his ground. "Well, that's your name, isn't it? Asshole? After all, that's what everyone calls you," Dean smirked. Looking back, he thought that he could have definitely made a better comeback, but that was all that came to mind at the moment.

Though he and Michael were the same height, he had always felt so small next to him before. And now here they both were, each of them feeling so much bigger than the other.

"Oh, since when did you grow a dick?" Michael laughed.

"Well I just thought you might need something to suck so..." Dean shrugged with a smirk. Everyone in the crowd held their breath, and Charlie and Benny gaped at each other as a silent _'did he really just say that?!'_

“Alright, you wanna go, little bitch?” Michael said and took a step forward. Everyone held their breath before Dean took a step closer with his fists already curled.

“Yeah, I think I do.”

“Well go ahead and take your shot. I mean if you don’t, I understand. You’re kind of a pussy after-” Michael couldn’t finish his sentence before Dean punched him square in the jaw, knocking him against the lockers. When Michael got to his feet within a few seconds, and touched his lip to find his lip busted, the whole world was in slow motion. You could hear a pin drop.

Dean couldn’t say he didn’t see it coming. He raised his arms to block the retaliating punch, but he was too late. He only barely stayed on his feet, but Michael didn’t want to let up. Another punch and Dean fell on his hands to break his fall on the ugly tiles. All Dean saw was another fist flying towards him before he clenched his eyes shut, flinching.  

But he didn’t feel anything. There was no pain.

“STOP IT!!!” a voice yelled to hush the crowds immediately. Dean looked up and… he couldn’t believe it.

Cas Novak was at Michael’s side, grabbing his wrist, keeping him from striking again. Michael had a bewildered look on his face, while Cas was staring back at him with the most vicious, blood-chilling glare Dean had seen in his life. No matter how many times Dean had stared at those blue eyes from a distance, he never had imagined them looking this utterly savage. "Leave. Now." Cas growled, unmoving. Dean was sure that if looks could kill, the whole room would be dead.

Michael yanked his arm away and glared back at Cas. He didn't say a word to Cas, but turned to Dean to say: "You better watch your back, Winchester," before storming off. Gabriel watched for a second as Michael walked away before following him, making sure to throw a menacing _'I'll deal with you later'_ glance to his little brother. Cas caught this and shuddered.

When the two of them had gone, the other students filtered out as well, going about their own business again. Cas watched until most of the kids had gone (at least the more popular ones), before grabbing Dean's hand and pulling him to his feet. For a brief moment, they at least _thought_ they were alone. This moment was spent with a simple but awkward stare, and was broken by Charlie throwing her arms around Dean.

"OH MY GOD ARE YOU CRAZY!?" she screamed into his shoulder. "God, you're such a fucking idiot!!"

Dean could barely pay a glance to his concerned friend, however. He was locked in eye contact with Cas. Dean felt everything tighten in his gut. He couldn't tell whether or not he was even breathing at this point, but he didn't care so much anymore about what happened to him for the rest of the day, or even the next month for that matter. He could be hit by a bus while walking home from school and would die happy because Cas was looking at him. Cas touched him. _Cas saved him._

The bell rang and Cas stood back a few feet once Dean's friends surrounded him, none of them even noticing he was still there. He looked awkwardly back and forth between Dean and his friends before giving up and turning around and leaving.

Dean stood breathless, hopelessly watching him go. When Cas turned the corner, Dean let out his breath and collapsed against the lockers, sliding down to the floor. Luckily, he was able to play it off as pain from the fight so his friends wouldn't think anything of it. They crouched next to Dean as he slowly came to terms with the fact that he wouldn't get his mind off this for the rest of the day.

It was ten days before the God Squad even looked at him again.


	4. Thanks for the Memories

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He tastes like you, only sweeter.

_It was eighth grade. Castiel had been looking forward to this day for ages, when the ninth grade class came to visit and tell them all about the "joys of high school". Of course they had all heard the horror stories of how no one was ever safe from the never-ending homework, the torment from the popular crowds, and how the lunches got even worse. Nevertheless, they sent a selection of leadership students to glorify Garrison High School, and cheer when Principal Shurley gave a "pep talk"- though it was really more like encouragement to please not transfer to another school. Other kids might have looked forward to this day for the candy that was thrown into the crowds, or actually wanting as much advice as possible. Castiel, however, wanted to see his brother._

_Gabriel had apparently gotten into the flow of school at their new town pretty easily, and was quickly swept into the popular group. Castiel looked up to his older brother more than anyone, and tried to model after him as best he could, but he could never fit in quite as well as him. Okay, that might have been an understatement- Castiel didn't fit in_ at all _. He wore his interests and feelings on his sleeve (often very literally), was first chair violist in the top orchestra at the school, trudged through the halls with his nose constantly stuck in an H. P. Lovecraft novel, and somehow it had gotten out (the_ one thing _he hadn't told anyone,) that he was bisexual. All this, including the fact that he was rather small for 14, made him easy prey._

_On this day, the ninth graders lingered in the halls, watching and waiting for questions. It was a bad day for the other eight grade boys to call Castiel “faggot” and try to see how well he could fit in a locker._

_A cry for help came from down the hall as Castiel tried to block the locker door from shutting him in. Gabriel snapped his head to the sound and ran over, shoving the assholes out of the way who were torturing his little brother. It didn't take too long for him to put the fear of God into them and pull Castiel out of the locker._

_"Hey, how long has this been going on?" Gabriel demanded._

_Silence._

_"Answer me, Castiel."_

_Castiel looked at his shoes and adjusted the thick framed glasses on his face. "A... A long time..."_

_Gabriel sighed and wrinkled his nose in disgust. He grabbed Castiel's shoulders, now forcing his to look up._

_"Hey, look at me. Things will be different next year. When you're in high school, with me, this will never, ever happen again. I promise you that. Come here," Gabriel opened his arms._

_Castiel fell into his brother's embrace and began to cry._

_"Shh... It'll be okay, brother," he said, rubbing a comforting hand over Castiel's back. "I promise."_

 ***

After hearing the crash of the garage door behind him, Cas made an attempt to bolt up the stairs to his room and avoid Gabriel, who was silently fuming the entire drive home. Cas made it halfway up the stairs before he felt a tug on his hoodie. He let out a yelp when he was suddenly against the wall with his brother inches from his face.

"What the hell were you thinking back there, huh Castiel?" Gabe sneered, and gave Cas an extra shove. The younger of the two only slightly flinched before snapping back.

"My name is Cas!" he bit back, trying to block out the flashbacks to middle school that accompanied the mention of his full name.

"It doesn't fucking matter what name you go by anymore! You think it changes things, but it doesn’t. I told you- I _specifically told you_ \- you can't talk to those kids. And then you're defending that asshole? When he hit your _friend_?!” Gabriel erupted. “Careful, bro. Make a stupid move like that one more time, you might be one of them again."

Cas was seething. "How is it wrong to show compassion?! Perhaps, you have forgotten, Gabriel, that I know how it feels. Maybe you forgot, but I didn't. And I never will." He stood tall now and glared at his brother, before storming off to his room.

When Cas slammed the door behind him, he immediately put in and cranked up his earphones and dove onto his bed. While Fall Out Boy nearly shattered his eardrums, he closed his eyes and sank into the pillows. He didn't regret what he did, no matter how much his brother threatened him. When he got to high school, Gabe kept his promise: things were different, and Cas wasn't tormented anymore. Gabriel crushed the knowledge of Cas's bisexuality, and he was popular. Everyone loved him. They had been adopted into the God Squad. They were the invincible ones. Cas had never been more content in a group of people, until he saw that... Things hadn't changed for everyone.

There was a boy- a freshman, like Cas- wearing a Deep Purple shirt with an eroding (but comfortable) leather jacket. He was listening to and whisper-singing Eye of the Tiger, doing a sort of dance-walk down the hall. He seemed so happy to Cas, like he had just aced a test in a class he was failing. So perfectly happy...

Then, in a sick attempt of trying to teach Cas "how things worked", Gabriel decided that this boy, this unbelievably bright boy, must be made an example of.

When the boy still had his eyes shut, trusting his feet as he lip-synced the high note, Gabriel stuck out his foot and he tumbled to the ground. He looked up at Gabriel from the ground with a threatening glare, an all too true vow that he was going to get back at him. At the same time, the sophomore was snickering before patting his brother on the arm, "Come on, Cas, let's go!" and darting to somewhere that Cas couldn't remember.

What he did remember was waiting for Gabe to be out of earshot and view before snapping his complete attention to the boy.

"Are you alright?" Cas asked and grabbed his hand and pulled him up.

"I'm fine," he replied. The two of them were immediately transfixed in the other's eyes.

After a moment, Cas broke the gaze and started to help him pick up his papers that fell out of his binder. They hardly spoke a word to each other, except for Cas apologizing for his brother. Once the mess was cleaned up, the bell rang and they both had to rush to class.

Cas never forgot those green eyes.

He thought about them once in a while, and wondered why he always came back to it, especially when he was lonely. There was no one at the school he really had a crush on, and when he was with Meg it was the biggest act he had had to put up in his life. More than anything, Cas cursed himself for not learning his name.

Cas almost didn’t notice his phone vibrating in his pocket.

**From: Meg**

**\---we need 2 talk---**

_'Fuck.'_

**To: Meg**

**\---What do you want---**

Cas was pissed. He didn’t want to talk to his stupid girlfriend. As he came to think of it, he didn’t even like her that much. She just seemed to be into him, and when she asked him out a month ago Gabe said she was a catch, so he went for it.

**From: Meg**

**\---can we call---**

**To: Meg**

**\---No.---**

**From: Meg**

**\---fine---**

**From: Meg**

**\---asshole---**

**To: Meg**

**\---Excuse me?---**

**From: Meg**

**\---i need 2 talk 2 u nd u don’t want 2 listen. it’s important.---**

**To: Meg**

**\---I never said I wouldn’t listen. I just said I didn’t want to call.---**

**From: Meg**

**\---whatever---**

**From: Meg**

**\---what i wanted 2 ask in the 1st place is wtf happend w/ that fight earlier---**

**To: Meg**

**\---Why does it matter?---**

**From: Meg**

**\---cuz it just does. y did u stick up 4 that guy hes an asshole---**

**To: Meg**

**\---What makes all of you say that? You don’t know him. None of us know him. Even if we did, what would give us the right to make him miserable?---**

**From: Meg**

**\---woah a little defensive there r we?---**

Cas was starting to get uneasy about where this conversation was heading. He knew he had to stand by what he did, but the consequences could be devastating. He didn’t think this through. Just how much could they find out?

**To: Meg**

**\---Why are you so concerned about this?---**

**From: Meg**

**\---ohhh thats interesting---**

**To: Meg**

**\---What's interesting?---**

**From: Meg**

**\---interesting how ur gay 4 a nerd---**

_'This is not happening this is not happening...'_

**To: Meg**

**\---Obviously, I am not gay, let's get that clear right now.---**

**From: Meg**

**\---ok so just tell me ur not crushing on that asswipe nd were all good---**

God, Meg was being a bitch. Cas knew he had two options. Break up with Meg now and be truthful and risk everything, or stay with her.

He didn't even realize how long he was taking to make his decision before his reply. Before he could stop it, his phone blew up.

**From: Meg**

**\---oh shit---**

**From: Meg**

**\---U ACTUALLY LIKE THAT FUCKING NERD R U FUCKING KIDDING ME---**

**From: Meg**

**\---cant believe ur gay---**

**From: Meg**

**\---UNbelievable---**

**From: Meg**

**\---does ur brother kno---**

**From: Meg**

**\---he doesnt does he---**

Cas's stomach dropped. If she told him, his life was over. End of story.

**To: Meg**

**\---I'm not gay I'm bisexual what do you want from me?!---**

**From: Meg**

**\---SO U ADMIT IT---**

**From: Meg**

**\---omfg---**

**From: Meg**

**\---r friends r going 2 loooove hearing abt this...---**

Even for Meg this was a low blow. Cas panicked. He had to think on his feet or lose everything. He wasn't one for dick moves like this, but desperate times called for desperate measure and there was _no way_ he was going to resign himself to being trapped inside lockers again.

He hit "Attach Image" and scrolled through his camera roll until he found the picture of Meg's bare chest she sent him a month ago.

**To: Meg**

**\---You might want to think about that first.---**

**From: Meg**

**\---YOU WOULDNT---**

Cas couldn't help but smirk. It worked.

**To: Meg**

**\---Oh, but I so would. A secret for a secret. I'd say that's even.---**

**From: Meg**

**\---fine.---**

**To: Meg**

**\---Alright then. Now, Meg Masters, would you do me the honor of being my ex?---**


	5. Don't Shoot the Messenger

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone. Sorry this chapter is kind of short, and the next one is REALLY short, but I've been working on a really long chapter for quite some time so you have that to look forward to! On Sunday I'll be leaving for two weeks, so I don't know when the next update will be. I'll do my best though to get Chapter 6 to you before I leave so you can have that for the time being! I hope you like it! :)

"GUYS!!!" Garth screamed right into Dean's ear without warning, making Dean jump out of his seat.

"Jesus fucking Christ Garth!" Dean yelled with his face his in hands.

"I knew it! I just _knew_ it! I told you it would happen, didn’t I?” Garth continued.

“Knew what? What happened?” Jo looked around, confused after missing the last week and a half of school due to a nasty concussion. Despite this, Dean still kicked her under the table. She shouldn’t have opened the floodgates.

“Meg and Cas! They broke up!” Garth was practically vibrating he was so excited. No one could ever really tell why he was so interested in these things. To him it was like living in a cheesy CW drama that you couldn’t help but get invested in.

Dean didn’t look up. He would most definitely not show a glimmer of hope. He would not. It wasn’t that hard to keep a straight face either, though. He still had a black eye, (on top of another one that was almost healed,) and his head was still ringing with the conversation that he had with his mom last night. A lot of lecturing, a lot of yelling, and a lot of confusion. Dean still couldn’t tell if she was mad or proud.

“Wow, that’s uh… That’s odd, I guess. How’d that happen?” Jo asked, only half interested. Someone had to let the kid vent.

“Well, I didn’t hear anything for myself, but rumor is she dumped him for his brother! Rumor _also_ has it, that it had something to do with this guy over here,” Garth said and nodded at Dean.

“Me?!” Dean balked.

“Wait, how could it have anything to do with Dean? Someone help me out here,” Jo cut back in.

“Benny, show her the video,” Charlie commanded. Benny nodded and started queuing up the video on his phone and handed it over to Jo. Her jaw was dropped through the whole video, which started with Dean taking a step toward Michael and swinging, and ending with Cas swooping in like fucking Batman to save the day.

“Holy shit why didn’t anyone tell me any of this?!” Jo sat awestruck.

Benny shrugged.  “You were gone.”

“It was a concussion, not a coma!” she said, angrily, then turned to Dean. “I am so proud of you! You know that?”

“Yeah, I know,” Dean said with a faint smile. “You really shouldn’t be, though. I just started a fight. I didn’t finish anything.”

“Who the fuck _cares_?!” Jo interjected. “Who the fuck cares? You showed them you’re not just some doormat they can kick around for fun, and that took _balls_.”

Before Dean could retort, a hand clapped on his shoulder.

“So, I hear we’ve got a new sheriff in town,” the British accent sent chills down his spine. Crowley was standing over them all, with an arrogant smirk across his face.

“Hey, you’re that new kid in Mill’s class, aren’t you? It’s Fergus, right?” Benny chimed in.

He grew red. "It's Crowley!"

"HEY FERGUS!" Someone shouted before an open cup of applesauce hit his back. The whole group went silent. Dean had to bite the inside of his cheek to keep himself from laughing out loud. He usually never said this about people being bullied, but: the prick kind of deserved it.

"I think it's time I go..." Crowley said quietly, and turned around to leave.

After that, Garth retreated back to his own table. Five minutes passed before Charlie spoke up.

"You know, you can't really blame Garth for being excited. Half the school was shipping it," she said.

"Wait, shipping what?" Jo asked.

"You know," Charlie rolled her eyes, "Gabe and Meg."

Dean paused. "You know what, Charlie? You're absolutely right. In fact, I think this deserves a toast." Dean held up his milk carton. "To Fuckboy and Succubus: the actual OTP."

They all were in the middle of raising their drinks when Benny stopped them. "Wait- shouldn't it be Fuckubus?"

"FUCKUBUS OH MY GOD!!" Jo nearly fell out of her seat laughing. When she regained most of her composure, they all raised their drinks high in the air and gave a cheer that rang through the cafeteria.

"TO FUCKUBUS!!!"

***

"Hold on a minute, I'll be right back," Cas excused himself from where he was sitting wedged between Anna and a very accomplished feeling Gabriel, who had Meg sitting on his lap.

Cas wasn't exactly sure what he was doing or why he was doing it, he was just feeling brave. Of course, as logic would suggest, with his status he wouldn't need to be feeling brave to ask someone out, but there was always that inescapable fear that Green Eyes hated him. He got up and started walking to the table that the "Nerd Herd" (as the God Squad called them) was sitting at. He got about fifteen feet away before turning the other direction and deciding to follow Fergus into the bathroom. He couldn't just go up and talk to Green Eyes in front of everyone, especially when he wasn't even sure if he hated him. That's why he came up with a much more "sophisticated" plan.

"Hey!" he tried to get the kid's attention as he went into the bathroom.

"What do you want?" Crowley asked after taking off his shirt to wash the applesauce off in the sink.

"Could I ask you to do something for me?"

"And why would I do anything for you?" he glared.

"Look, I'm sorry that... that happened to you. But it wasn't me. But please, just tell me something. That boy you were talking to earlier- what's his name?" Cas asked hesitantly.

"Which one?"

"In the leather jacket. You seemed to know him."

Crowley paused before answering. "His name is Dean."

"Dean..." Cas repeated to himself, then pulled out a piece of paper. He scribbled a note against the wall and folded it.

"Do you think you could give this to him for me?"

***

Dean had just listed his name on the audition sign-up sheet for the school musical this year- West Side Story. Topped only by Fiddler on the Roof and, admittedly, Rent, West Side Story was his one of his favorites. He had been wanting to play Tony for quite some time, and evidently their theatre teacher had caught onto that. He had become one of her favorite students, and she had become insistent on him participating in one of the school productions, despite his preference to keep his friends in the dark about his interest in the arts. So, ( _'damn her'_ ,) she found the one show he couldn't resist.

When Dean had only just turned around, Crowley swooped in front of him yet again.

"Special delivery," he winked, pushing the note in his hand and beginning to walk off.

"Okay, how the _fuck_ did you find me?!" Dean asked, not sure he wanted to know the answer.

Crowley turned around, walking backwards to look at Dean as he left. "Easy. I simply followed the scent of unrequited love and failed attempts at secrecy, and it lead me here."

Dean waited until he left to read it. Seriously? Cryptic notes now too? Reluctantly, he unfolded the paper and- _what_?  
  
_Dean,_

     _Meet me outside Harvelle's room after school. Alone._

_Cas~_


	6. Batman Can't Save You From Your Own Stupidity

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! I'm really sorry that this update is so late. I've been out of town for two weeks and only got home yesterday, and barely had any downtime while I was away. The camp I was at was super intense and I had about a half hour each day to just do whatever, and most of that time I spent either writing what I could or talking with friends. So yes, I am still working on the same chapter now as when I left. It's almost done though, and I will get it to you as soon as possible! I'd also like to apologize for the fact that this chapter is probably the shortest of the whole fic, at least as far as I can tell with where it's heading and everything. To make up for it though, the next two chapters will be pretty damn long. 
> 
> Also, a fair heads up that I only have three weeks between now and when I leave to go on another vacation. It'll be a little shorter, but not by much. I'm actually going out of the country for the first time, so it'll be pretty big. However, my grandparents, who are taking me on said vacation, are very anti-phone, so even if I told them that I was writing or doing something rather important on it, they'd most likely tell me to put it away, and writing on paper might be dangerous because they have been known to be very... curious. And homophobic. So there's that. 
> 
> For now though, never mind that! Still three weeks until then, so for the time being, enjoy the gay! <3

Dean stared at the note for the next hour, trying to make sense of it. Cas wanted to talk to him. Alone. After school. Frantically, he tried to make a decision of whether he should go or not. After all, it could be a trap. It could all be some elaborate plan to get back at Dean for what happened with Michael. Whatever this was, Cas had actually taken notice of him, and Dean wasn't sure how he felt about that.

After deciding that he shouldn't go in order to save his own sanity, the bell rang and Dean must have blacked out. There was no other explanation for him finding himself standing a few feet away from Mrs. Harvelle's room. It wasn't until he saw Cas standing outside the classroom with his hands in his pockets that Dean started to realize what he was actually doing. He wanted at the last second to turn tail and head the other direction before Cas saw him. Make it look like he never even got the note in the first place. It was a good plan. One that he was going to go through with, before Cas turned to him and smiled.

"Hello Dean," Cas smiled at him rather shyly, rocking on his heels.

Dean just about stopped breathing. Cas _knew his name_. And by the looks of the situation so far, this wasn't all a set up to privately beat Dean to a pulp.

After a couple awkward seconds, Dean managed to choke out: "Hey."

Cas seemed to smile a little brighter at this, making Dean want to melt. Why did he have to be so damn _cute_?

"I see you got my note," Cas said.

"Yeah, what's this about?" Dean had to ask. He didn't intend to sound so perturbed, but that's how it came out.

Cas cocked his head, as if it were obvious. "I wanted to talk to you."

Dean couldn't help it. He laughed. It started out as just a half laugh, then turned into a chuckle, and soon he was doubled over, howling. Cas couldn't be serious, could he?

"I'm sorry, just... _What?!_ " Dean said, trying to collect himself, not looking at Cas. "You. _You_ want to talk to me. After your whole crowd has been screwing with me, making my life a living Hell, for years... and you wanna _talk_?!"

Cas looked down at his feet. "I know this changes nothing that my friends have done to you in the past, but..." Cas finally looked up at Dean, blue eyes pleading, "I am sorry. For everything."

Dean froze. He did not see this coming. Dean's first instinct was to turn down Cas's apology. There was no way in Hell he was gonna forgive those sons of bitches. Then it sank in that this was _Cas_. The guy he had been pining over for nearly three years, taking his time to apologize to Dean for things that he didn't even do.

"Okay," Dean sighed. "So, what do you wanna talk about?" he resigned, deciding to just give Cas what he wants.

"Well..." Cas stops, thinking for a moment. Then he seemed to come to a decision. "I'd like to get to know you," he smiled.

Dean's eyebrows shot up. "Uhh..." he stood dumbstruck. How in the world was he supposed to respond to that?

"If you don't want to, I completely understand," Cas rushed, "but seeing as both of our friends would likely throw us into a volcano if we were to be seen together, I was wondering if you would like to maybe see a movie tomorrow night."

For a moment, he could have sworn that Cas was actually nervous.

Dean's brain had become the equivalent of a tumblr .gif that wouldn't load. Without even thinking, Dean sputtered out: "Uh... Yeah. Yeah, sure that sounds great."

Cas seemed to light up. "Okay!" he said, starting to back up a few feet, ready to leave. "So, I'll text you the details?"

"S-sounds good," Dean stuttered. _'What is happening...'_  was the only thing going through his mind.

It only registered that Cas was walking away when he started walking back. "I almost forgot," he said, getting closer to Dean than they were earlier. "I don't have your number. Here, give me your phone."

Dean didn't feel like he was in his own body. It felt like he was watching someone else hand their phone over to Cas, who not only added himself as a contact but sent himself a text and said as he handed the phone back: "There. Now we both have each other's numbers."

"Uh... Yeah..." God, Dean could physically feel the dorkiness oozing from his pores. He couldn't tell whether he felt flattered or humiliated when Cas seemed to give a small laugh.

"I take it I'll see you tomorrow night, then?" Cas said with that damned charming smile of his.

Dean nodded.

"I'll text you," was the last thing said between them before Cas turned around and walked out of the school, rendering Dean speechless, alone in the hallway.


	7. Pelvic Sorcery

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> But no homo though...

Dean sat on the edge of his bed, tapping his phone against his forehead. He blinked and it was already Saturday afternoon. He didn't know what time he was supposed to meet Cas at the theater, what movie they'd be seeing, which theater they were supposed to be meeting at, or if Cas was even going to be there at all. He still thought this must have all been some horrible setup meant to humiliate him, when his phone buzzed against his forehead, making him jump.

**From: Cas**

**\---Hi!---**

Once again, Dean's heart skipped a beat. Unlike the last time, however, Dean kept his focus. He was determined to keep his cool. Shouldn’t be too hard when you’re texting, right?

**To: Cas**

**\---Hey---**

That was the only thing he sent back. He did not want to screw things up or make presumptions about anything. His new rule was to just follow Cas’ lead with everything.

**From: Cas**

**\---So do you still want to see a movie tonight?---**

_'Wow. That actually_ did _happen.'_

**To: Cas**

**\---Yeah, sure---**

**From: Cas**

**\---Great! Which one do you want to see?---**

Every time Dean got a reply from Cas, things just got more confusing. He made a mental note to tread carefully.

**To: Cas**

**\---idk up to you, i guess---**

**From: Cas**

**\---Okay, well how about Guardians of the Galaxy? I’ve been dying to see it, and no one has wanted to go with me. Have you seen it yet?---**

_'Only a million times…'_ Dean thought to himself with a smile, before reeling himself back in. Dammit, Cas was hitting his weak spot, big time. He almost wanted to say no. That "oops, something’s come up," he couldn’t go.

Unfortunately, there must have been a disconnect between his brain and his thumbs.

**To: Cas**

**\---I’d love to---**

_‘Dammit. Shit. Fuck. Fucking, motherfucker please don’t send please don’t send I didn’t mean that please whatever god is out there if you exist please give me a chance I fucked up I fucked up I fucked up…’_

Dean threw his phone at his pillow and stood up, muttering: “No, no, no, no, what the fuck did I just do?”

He hardly noticed when Mary entered the room. “What’s all this?” she asked, noticing the clothes laid out on his bed and the general aura of embarrassment.

“Oh, Dean has a date,” Sam smirked as he joined the party in the doorway of Dean’s room.

“Oh? With who?” Mary raised her eyebrows at her oldest.

Sam smiled, amused. “His crush.”

“Dammit, Sam! Could you please shut up for just five friggin’ seconds?!” Dean yelled. _‘The little shit..’_ “It’s not a date!”

“Are you sure?” Sam asked, still wearing his shit-eating grin.

Dean stopped. ' _No'_ , he thought. He really _wasn’t_ sure. Truth be told, he had no idea what Cas’s true intentions were of this get-together. The thought had crossed his mind more than enough times that it was all a cruel joke, but he had never thought of it possibly being an actual _date_. Cas wasn’t gay- he knew that. Somehow, though, Dean had never even considered that someone else besides him might be bisexual. He tried, however, to shake that hope from his mind. It was weird enough for Cas to ask him to hang out as a friend, let alone ask him on a date.

Dean’s phone buzzed again.

**From: Cas**

**\---Great! I’ll see you at the theater in 2 hours then. The movie should start at about 5:30. Does that sound okay? :)---**

Huh. Maybe Dean didn’t fuck up so bad after all. He didn’t even notice his smile as he read the text, one that Mary caught on to and sighed.

“Alright, let’s find you something to wear.”

***

There was really nothing special about what Dean’s mother ended up picking out for him. The only thing that went into the dressing up process was choosing which plaid looked the best on him, and digging up a pair of jeans that didn’t have holes in the knees. It did mildly help his confidence though, to know that maybe he didn’t look so terrible, after having both confirmation from his mom and Sam.

The late-September chill was beginning to bite through his layers of clothes after waiting an extra ten minutes for Cas to show up outside the theater. For those extra ten minutes he sat on the stone bench outside with his knee bouncing, hyper vigilant and waiting for any faces he recognized to show. Finally though, Dean saw that unmistakable mess of hair and approached him with his heart pounding in his ears.

“Hey, Cas,” Dean caught his attention, doing his best to appear confident.

Relief seemed to flood over Cas. “Hello Dean,” he smiled back shyly. The pair seemed to stare at each other for a moment before Dean cleared his throat awkwardly.

“Well then, shall we?” he said, and they headed inside the theatre.

The smell of fresh popcorn that hit Dean was greatly welcomed. Over time, the movie theater had become like Disneyland with how many great moments he had spent there with either his friends or Sam. Above those, however, one of his fondest memories here was with his father. Sure, Attack of the Clones wasn’t a very great movie for a three year old to most parents, but when Dean found John Winchester’s old Star Wars VHS tapes, John couldn’t seem to say no to showing his boy the wonderful world of George Lucas films. Dean soon became obsessed with the franchise, which became the main bonding point of father and son. Hell, that movie must have been the first one Dean had seen in a theater _ever_. Unsurprisingly, it sparked an interest in science fiction that never went away, and landed him here.  

As they moved to get their ticket stubs ripped, Dean's eyes widened and he reached for his pocket. "Crap..." he muttered. "We forgot to buy tickets!" he explained when he saw Cas cocking his head to the side.

"Oh! Don't worry about that. I swung by here a couple hours ago and bought them." Cas smiled and pulled the tickets out of his pocket, handing one to Dean.

"Y-you....you really..." Dean stared after Cas as he moved to the concessions.

"What snacks do you want? I'm getting us some popcorn to split."

"I could go for some licorice and a root beer right now," Dean said, reaching for his wallet.

“Dean, I told you. Don’t worry about it,” Cas said.

"Ummm... Okay?" Dean stuffed his wallet back in his pocket as Cas paid and handed Dean's snacks to him.

“So, why Guardians of the Galaxy? Aren’t you and your friends kind of… anti-nerdiness?” Dean asked.

“Oh, they are. Don’t tell anyone this, but I’ve wanted to see this for quite some time, and I guess I sort of assumed that you would want to go with me.” Cas shrugged and took a sip from his slushie, looking down at his shoes in embarrassment.

Dean studied him for a moment, torn between sympathy for the guy and his guilty pleasures, and being offended by the assumption. “Yeah, don’t worry. Your secret’s safe with me.”

Though Cas didn’t look at Dean again until they found seats all the way in the back row of the theater, Dean couldn’t help but notice his subtle smile, and _‘Holy hell is he actually blushing?!’_

The two of them had sat down just in time for the trailers to start, popcorn propped between their seats and Dean already digging into his Red Vines.

“So, you like superhero movies?” Dean asked, awkwardly trying to start a conversation.

“Um… yes?” Cas answered, as if he were confused by the question. “I’m here, aren’t I? Why do you ask?”

“Well, no offense, you just… don’t seem the type.” Dean said before shoving some popcorn in his mouth to keep himself from saying anything stupid and turned his head back to the screen.

Cas looked at Dean with a sort of disappointment, and looked back down to his shoes. He opened his mouth to speak, but closed it.

“What?” Dean asked.

Cas huffed. “Nothing. Just… don’t assume you know things about me that you don’t,” he said, irritated.

Dean sighed with a sinking feeling in his gut. Yeah, he definitely screwed up. “Shit, Cas, I’m sorry. You’re right. I mean, who am I to judge?” he stuffed a piece of licorice in his mouth, proceeding to talk with his mouth full. “I mean, people’f been fuffing me finf like, what, fevenf gwade?”

“I'm sorry but I have to stop you right there. That's disgusting. Swallow.”

Dean did as he was told, then turned back to Cas with a cheeky grin. “Oh, well if you insist...” he said with a wink. Cas tried to cover his face with his hand, but it wasn’t long before he was laughing out loud, bright red flushing his cheeks. Dean felt a swell of both affection and pride as Cas laughed beside him.

'Wow...' Dean couldn't seem to think anything other than that. Not only was Cas's laugh _freaking beautiful_ , but Dean couldn't stop himself from thinking _'I did that!'_

"Ah! Movie's starting!" Dean pointed out as the lights dimmed. They settled further into their seats, and Dean breathed a sigh of relief at no longer having to keep up awkward small talk and risk eternal humiliation.

Through the movie, Dean kept stealing glances over at Cas, partially to see his reactions to the movie, and also just to look at him. He was relieved to see Cas sitting forward in his seat most of the time, just as enthralled in the story as Dean was the first time he had watched it. Now, after seeing it around eight times with his friends and with Sam, he already had most of it memorized, and didn’t even notice when he would mouth the lines along with the movie or bob his head to the music. Cas however, did notice, and it was a good thing that Dean was oblivious to this.

Dean couldn’t help but see the way Cas tensed up (almost in annoyance, it seemed,) as Peter and Gamora were getting so close to kissing, and he had to hold back his cackling, knowing what was coming next.

“NO!” Gamora shouted and held the knife to Peter’s throat.

Cas shot straight up in surprise at the turn of events.

“I know who you are, Peter Quill! And I am not some starry-eyed wife, here to succumb to your- your- PELVIC SORCERY!”

The boys laughed, heads rolling back and leading them to both lean back in their seats, each unconsciously leaning towards the other. It was only a moment after their arms were completely pressed together that their hands brushed together and they jumped apart, both flushing and neither one looking at the other, and pretending it was nothing. Dean fished what was left of the popcorn out of the bucket and Cas sipped on his slushie nervously. It took a few more jokes and anecdotes before either of them had shaken off the awkwardness, and soon enough they were whispering commentaries to each other and trying to not disturb the rest of the people in the theater.

After what seemed like forever, the movie ended. Cas stood up, grabbing their trash and was about to head out the door when Dean stopped him.

“Cas, wait- what are you doing?”

“Leaving the theater?” he tilted his head to the side.

“Dude- no. Not yet, I mean you’re gonna miss the after-credits scene!” Dean protested.

“What?” Cas looked even more confused now.

“Yeah, every Marvel movie has an extra scene after the credits. You didn’t know that?” Dean explained, feeling a strange twinge of sympathy for Cas. _‘Poor guy must have missed out on so much.’_

“Oh…” Cas said, sitting back down. “Well in that case…”

They waited out the credits in an awkward silence. Until the scene finally came. Dean wasn’t exactly sure how great of an idea it was to have Cas stay until after the credits, considering that it personally wasn’t Dean’s _favorite_ bonus scene, but he couldn’t help but feel like he’d be doing Cas a disservice by letting him miss out on another Marvel after-credits scene.

“... I don’t understand. Howard the Duck?” Cas said, turning to Dean with an even more confused look than before, and if it wasn’t the most adorable thing Dean had ever seen… Dean mentally kicked himself just for the thought.

“Yeah, man, it’s… I don’t know. Let’s go.” Dean said, abruptly getting up and leaving to avoid talking, Cas following closely behind.

They stopped and stood outside the building, hands stuffed in their pockets and eyes darting all over the place.

“This was… fun. I’d like to do something like this again sometime.” Cas said.

“Yeah, I- I thought so too. So… Text you later?” Dean said, nervously rocking on his heels.

“Of course,” Cas smiled before he checked his phone. “I have to go now. I’ll see you on Monday,” he said and walked to his car.

“O-okay…” Dean mumbled, watching Cas go unceremoniously. Once Cas was out of sight, Dean turned the other way, tugging at his collar and clutching his heart, more than ready to go home.


	8. Score

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! Thank you so much for all the comments that you've been leaving! They've inspired me to work extra hard in getting this hella long chapter to you, which I am confident that you all will like. At least I hope you will, since it's 2:30 AM on the morning of the birth of the Star Spangled Man With A Plan. Soooooo yeah. I'm very tired. But it's all for you. Like Lana Del Ray. 
> 
> Obviously I need sleep. 
> 
> Anywho, enjoy the chapter!!!

The next two weeks were emotionally draining. Dean and Cas continued to text, much to Dean's surprise. Every time that his phone lit up and he saw Cas' name, he smiled to himself and tried to think of some witty response. Sam teased him about it to no end, and in turn Dean would ask him how things are going with Jess, making him turn red and actually shut the hell up for once. All the while, he had to do his best to stay quiet about it when he was with his friends. Now that something had actually happened regarding Cas and their relationship had moved past seemingly one-sided pining, it took more work than he had ever expected to hold his tongue. He and Cas would sometimes make eye contact in the hall or at lunch and share a private smile, usually ending in one or both of them getting embarrassed and turning away.

That's where things got confusing. The mutual glances, the constant this-reminded-me-of-you texts, and, as time went on, even the occasional wink accompanying their rare smiles in passing... To the both of them it was all bordering on something not-so-platonic. Dean's mind kept bouncing non-stop between "I still think it's a setup" and "Holy crap I think he might actually like me".

So one evening, when Cas had mentioned that he had never been to an arcade, Dean decided to man up and do something about it.

**To: Cas**

**\---you cant be serious---**

**From: Cas**

**\---What? It can't be THAT crazy...---**

**To: Cas**

**\---it's kind of crazy dude. that's like saying you've never had a childhood. so you've never played like House of the Dead or anything?---**

**From: Cas**

**\---No? That sounds rather creepy.---**

**To: Cas**

**\---ok fair enough. what about air hockey---**

**From: Cas**

**\---No.---**

**To: Cas**

**\---okay last chance. Skee ball?---**

**From: Cas**

**\---No---**

**To: Cas**

**\---alright that's it. What are you doing this weekend?---**

**From: Cas**

**\---Just church on Sunday. Why?---**

Dean felt like a rock was sitting in his stomach as he contemplated his next message. Once he sent it, there would be no going back. This was do or die.

It only took him a moment to think it over. _Do._

**To: Cas**

**\---its settled then. Saturday, were going to the arcade---**

**From: Cas**

**\---Okay, sounds like fun! I'll be there. :)---**

Dean's heart did a flip.

When the weekend finally came after three more long days of spitballs and locker doors in his face, Dean had his mom drop him off at the arcade that they had decided to meet at. She pulled up to the front door, and Dean stared nervously at the entrance to the building, wondering if Cas was there already. He froze, suddenly getting cold feet.

"Hey," Mary said, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder, "you'll be fine."

Dean nodded silently.

"You have nothing to be nervous about. A nice, handsome boy like you, I'm sure he likes you too."

Dean's eyes widened. "How did you...?"

"Dean, I'm your mother. I know you better than anyone else in the world. I hear the way you talk about him, even the few times you have. It's the same way Sam talks about Jess, or how I talk about your dad. It's nothing to be ashamed of. We all have crushes, and just know that I support you, no matter what," she said sincerely. "Plus, I saw him when I dropped you off at the movie theater for your 'not a date' a few weeks ago, and I gotta say: I don't blame you. He's a cutie."

Dean simply stared at her, amazed. He didn't know whether to be scared that she just knew, or relieved at how supportive she was.

"Alright," she sighed, moving on. "Well, you should probably be heading inside now..."

"Yeah," Dean said, the butterflies once again flitting around in his stomach. He opened the door to get out, but not before kissing his mother on the cheek. "Bye Mom. Love you," he said and stepped out.

"Love you too. Hey!" she called before he closed the door. "Good luck. And keep me updated, okay? I'm not going to bed until you're home safe, you know that? Text me," she ordered sternly.

"Alright," Dean agreed and rolled his eyes. "See you later," he said, closed the door, and she drove away, leaving Dean on his own.

Cas showed up five minutes after Dean, parking his car then meeting him out front. Dean jumped up from the bench his was sitting on.

“Hey, Cas,” he said, straightening his clothes and trying to be cool.

“Hello, Dean,” Cas smiled. The two of them hovered at the spot for a moment, much like their first meeting, before finally heading inside.

Lights flickered and whirred all around them, buzzers sounding and music blaring from all corners of the dim building.

“So, what do you wanna do first?” Dean asked with a cocky grin on his face. He might not have been able to determine how their previous meetings went, but he knew this place like the back of his hand and he knew full well he could show anyone a good time here. This was his turf.

Cas shrugged, still taking in everything around him. “I have no preference, I’ve never been here before. What do you think we should start with?”

Dean smirked.

***

“Okay, so just put this vest on-”

“I don’t know how! It’s very heavy and-” Cas’s breathed hitched as Dean buckled one of the sides, “-complicated.”

Dean sighed. “Just relax, okay? Take your blaster, and stand in one of the lines. Do you wanna be on my team or not?”

Cas’s eyes darted every which way, embarrassed. He pulled the blaster up from where it was just grazing the ground, weighing down his vest from where it was hanging off it. “I’ll be on your team.”

Dean did a slight fist pump. “Alright! Red Team it is!”

The unenthusiastic employee zoomed through the rules, leaving Cas completely in the dust. As both the Green Team and Red Team made their way into the black light laser tag arena, Dean made sure to stay by Cas.

"Alright, so for this round, just stay near me and go with the plan, alright?" Dean whispered. Cas nodded his understanding.

"Okay. So basically, you shoot at anyone with a green vest. Trigger's right there, and you can see your score right there," he said, pointing at the different points on Cas's gun.  “Now, if you get shot, sit down for a couple seconds until your blaster recharges. You’ll know when either of those happens. Got it?”

Cas sighed, preparing himself for the battle ahead of them. “Got it. Any other advice?”

“Don’t get shot.” Dean patted Cas on the shoulder and started making his way onto the neon battlefield, signaling for Cas to follow. They ran through the arena, sticking close together, until they found a barrier to duck behind as two enemies across the room spotted them and started firing.  

“Get down!” Dean ordered, and looked between the wall in front of them and back out at the battlefield as he strategized. “I’ll hold ‘em off while you run to find their home base and shoot. There’s a big green light at the top of a corner- you can’t miss it. Go inside the corner under it and shoot directly at the little red light in the center. That’ll end the game and most likely win it for us. Probably crawling with Greenies though,” he looked back over the barrier to see around five more of the Green Team. _‘Where the hell is the rest of Red Team?’_

“Shit, okay, they know where we are. Go now, I’ll cover you!” Dean commanded and turned back to Cas, who was... gone.

“Cas?” Dean looked all around for Cas, and when he stood up with his blaster ready to fire at any enemies, he didn’t see any. At least, none that were standing.

Three green vests were on the ground, waiting for their guns to recharge, while the fourth was sinking down to the floor. Cas whipped around from where he was standing over the fourth to perfectly shoot the fifth that was approaching him from a few yards away. He was about to run down the ramp to the lower level of the arena, when he turned to Dean, who was gawking at him.

“You coming or what?” Cas called back playfully, flashing a grin, and started running.

“Son of a bitch…” Dean mumbled in amazement, and followed Cas to the rival base.

Moving toward the base of the Green Team, (with zero help from the rest of the Red Team who had apparently went AWOL,) the pair moved back to back, covering each other the entire way, with Dean leading the way through the territory that he had more than memorized, and Cas keeping an eye out for anyone that even thought of doing so much as aiming at them. This resulted in a home base that had next to no guards, since they had apparently either all been shot or trying to infiltrate the base of the Red Team that was, evidently, being puppy-guarded like there was no tomorrow.

As Cas took a shot at a stray green vest, Dean ran to the inside of the base to end the game.

“Dean!” Cas shouted in warning as one recovered Greenie came into the room. Dean spun around to shoot, but it was too late. As soon as he saw him, his own vest sounded off and the score on his blaster started blinking. He’d been shot. Cas must not have seen this, because not even a second after Dean was hit, their opposer’s vest was making the very same sound.

“I’m hit! I’m hit!” Dean cried to Cas as he sank to his knees on the floor, sliding down against the wall next to the button. Cas rushed over to him, only to receive another order.

“The button! Shoot it, Cas!” Dean commanded. Cas did as he was told and stood up, pointing his blaster directly at the red light on the wall, and fired.

All at once, every vest in the arena sounded: GAME OVER. RED TEAM WINS.

At that moment, they both must have realized just how much adrenaline had been running through their systems. Dean was already sitting, but still needed time to catch his breath. Cas panted as he slipped onto the ground, on Dean’s left. They sat there in silence for a moment, taking in the win. Dean held out his hand between them, for an awkward sort of low-five. He was surprised when Cas didn’t slap his hand down and move on, but took his hand and squeezed it. Dean’s heart just about skipped a beat.

“Good game,” Dean wheezed and got to his feet, pulling Cas up after him.

As they returned the gear and explored the rest of the arcade, Dean was constantly resisting the urge to reach out and take Cas’s hand. He almost did it once or twice (or three times), but he had to remind himself that what Cas did a few moments ago was simply because of the rush. The heat of the moment. Nothing more.

“So, something tells me you lied to me back there,” Dean said.

“What? What do you mean?” Cas tilted his head in confusion, which only slightly frustrated Dean. He was just starting to get somewhat confident around the guy, and then he goes and does something adorable like _that._

“I mean, you said you had never played laser tag before,” Dean said, stopping both of them. “Now, I know that can’t _possibly_ be true, because you got a higher score than me. _No one_ has _ever_ gotten a higher score than me. Not even Charlie.”

“So just because I beat you, it means I’m a cheater?” Cas asked, smiling as if he were trying to challenge Dean to something, but there was still playfulness in his tone.

“Well, I didn’t say you were a cheater, but now that you mention it…” Dean said, stepping ever so slightly closer to Cas, but the moment was cut short by Dean’s embarrassment, causing him to turn away and keep walking. “Seriously, man. I don’t know how you did it. I mean, I’ve been spending Saturdays here with my brother since I was eight. This _could not_ have been your first time,” he protested.

“Well…” Cas muttered with a shy smile, “maybe I have played it once or twice with Gabriel…”

“You frickin’ liar!” Dean laughed and gave Cas a lighthearted shove. “Go on, get out of my sight!”

“I’m sorry!” Cas laughed with his face in his hands, redness flooding his cheeks.

“Eh, shaddup,” Dean grinned.

Not much later, they had wound up by the skee ball machines. Dean pointed to them, signaling to Cas to follow.

"So, I'm assuming that, since you lied to me, you've played this before?" Dean said facetiously.

Cas shook his head. "No, I've only played laser tag with just my brothers at home. I've still never really been to an arcade."

Dean frowned slightly. "Oh. Well, you're in luck. I'll show you how to play this," Dean said and put the coins in the slot. "See, the balls will line up here, you take one and toss it up the ramp like so," he said and tossed a ball as a demonstration, landing it in the 5,000 point zone. "And when you toss it, you wanna try and get it in the highest scoring holes. So either the one in the center or the corners. Here," he threw one of the orange balls to Cas, who only just barely caught it. "Give it a try."

Cas approached the machine skeptically. He stood straight and tossed it awkwardly. The ball flew up above all the scoring zones, hit the top of the machine and rolled back down to Cas’s feet. Cas sighed and picked it back up dejectedly.

“That was… awful. I’m sorry” he muttered shyly.

“Dude, why are you apologizing? It was your first time! You just need some practice, that’s all. Try leaning into it more. Loosen up a bit,” Dean suggested.

Cas shook his head, but tried again, this time slightly leaning forward, with his leg sticking out behind him. Dean had to stop himself from staring at Cas’ (admittedly very nice) ass, which was sticking out more than Dean was okay with for their current situation. It might have been wrong for Dean to think, but- damn, Cas looked good like that.

Again, Cas failed miserably and the ball came bouncing back. He threw his hands up. “I’m so bad at this! How do you do it?” he whined.

Dean got up from the corner of another machine that he was sitting on. “Cas, calm down, alright? You’ll get it.”

“Will you show me?”

Dean stopped for a second. “Yeah,” he said, suddenly getting nervous as he moved to stand behind Cas. “Here…” He held Cas’ hand in his, and soon their bodies were lined up, pressed against each other. Dean did his best to stay calm and keep his breathing in check, resting his other hand on Cas’s shoulder. “You just…” Dean said- almost whispered- as he guided Cas to throw the ball, landing it in the 10,000 point zone.

“Huh,” Cas half-laughed, and Dean did the same. It was the only thing he could do. He was, once again, way too distracted by Cas to even try to think of something else. His head was swimming with _Cas_. All he could think of was the feel of Cas against him, Cas’s hand in his, the smell of Cas… just, Cas.

He was in the middle of thinking about how he could spend a forever like this when Cas cleared his throat.

“Umm… Dean?”

In one swift motion, Dean dropped Cas’s hand and leaped back like a cat from water, apologizing profusely.

“I’m sorry! I’m sorry! God, I’m so fucking sorry. I’m so stupid!” Dean rambled to himself, running his hands over his face.

“Dean-”

“Cas, I’m so sorry! I’ll never do that again, I didn’t- I just-”

“Dean! It’s fine, okay?” Cas stepped forward and, as if out of instinct, took Dean’s hand in his. “It’s okay.”

Just like that, they froze. Dean was forced to calm down (at least mildly,) and they somehow ended up staring at each other once again. For a moment that seemed like an eternity to them, they were lost in each other’s eyes. Dean was afraid he was going to drown in the sea of blue only inches away from him.

Dean took a shaky breath and closed his eyes, and the next thing he knew, Cas’s lips were on his.  

It was like the entire world stopped moving.

 _‘Is this really happening?’_ Dean went rigid, eyes practically popping out of his head staring at Cas, who- if Dean was correct- was kissing him. He was internally screaming, yelling at himself to do something.

But then it was too late. Cas must have felt Dean’s discomfort, and pulled away. He looked down at the floor, color flooding his cheeks. His whole body tensed, and he pulled at the ends of his shirt, his voice cracking as he spoke. He seemed like he was about to cry.

“I’m… I’m sorry. Believe me, I had no intention of-”

Seeing Cas like this made the situation finally register in Dean’s brain. It was like there was a huge flashing sign going off in his mind, screaming at him “HE LIKES YOU, YOU STUPID IDIOT! DO SOMETHING!!!”

So he did.

As Cas turned away, mumbling something about how he “should probably go”, Dean surged forward and took Cas’s face in his hands and kissed him with all he had. Sure, it was a little sloppy and uncoordinated, (as is the nature of a person’s first kiss,) but it was perfect all the same. Their eyes were clenched shut and their noses bumped together clumsily. Dean heard a small, muffled whine escape Cas’s lips, at the same time feeling Cas’s hand come to rest on the back of Dean’s neck, keeping him close. All too soon, they ran out of breath and had to break for air, keeping their foreheads together and panting.

“So I take it you like me, then?” Dean laughed breathlessly, a stupid grin breaking onto his face.

“Yeah, I guess I do,” Cas giggled, and took only a moment before once again closing the distance between them, this time running his fingers through Dean’s hair.

“You have no idea how long I’ve wanted to do this,” Dean mumbled between kisses, resting his hands on Cas’s waist. He could feel Cas’s smile against his mouth as their lips moved together, the arcade game completely forgotten.

“So…” Cas said after a moment, “does this count as our first date?”

“Yeah,” Dean said, feeling happier than he could ever remember being in his life. “I guess it does.”


	9. *Aggressive Rhythmic Snapping*

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, sorry it's been a while since the last chapter, and this one isn't too eventful if I'm being completely honest. I've only got about two weeks until I'm off all the way in Europe, which will be exciting, but unfortunate since I probably won't get any chances to write anything. Also, once the school year starts up I will have VERY limited writing time. Like, really really limited. Kill me. On the upside though, I'm entering the first eight chapters of this in a fandom contest at my library, so wish me luck on that! Hope you guys like the chapter!

Dean shut the door behind him quietly, doing his best to not wake up anyone in the house at this hour. He and Cas had stayed out together much longer than they had originally planned. They hadn’t even really had a plan in the first place, but if they did, it certainly would not have meant staying at the arcade until 8 o’clock, stopping for dinner together at a random fast food restaurant, and wandering around town until city curfew demanded that they return home.

Unfortunately for Dean, it didn’t matter too much how hard he tried to not wake anyone up, since they were both awake anyway.

“Where the _hell_ have you been?!” Mary swooped in before Dean even had a chance to notice that she was there. Dean went from elated to terrified in less than two seconds.

“I, uh… I…” he scrambled for an answer. A truth, a lie, it didn’t matter. Just something to blurt out before the wrath of his mother rained down upon him.

He was too late.

“Do you know what time it is? Midnight! Your brother and I have been worried sick about you! What the hell were you thinking?!” She grabbed him by the arm and hauled him to the living room, sitting him down on one of the couches so they could have a “talk”.

“You go out and stay out nearly all night when you say you're gonna be home in just a couple hours, you never tell me what's going on or whether or not you're safe, all the while you're with that boy who hangs out with those horrible, horrible people and-”

“Mom-” he got up from his seat to calm the growing storm that was his mother.

“-Do you even know how badly you scared me? And Sam- I just- _Don’t do that!_ ”

“Mom!” Dean had his both his hands on her shoulders, forcing her to stop her tirade. “I’m okay,” he stared straight into her eyes.

Without warning, Mary threw her arms around him, stroking his hair.

“I’m fine, Mom,” he said, hugging her back. “Nothing bad’s gonna happen to me. I promise.”

Mary instinctively squeezed him before letting go. “You’re brother’s waiting for you upstairs. He’s got some things to tell you,” she sniffed and nodded for him to go.

"Oh!" she called him back before he got too far away. "Did everything go okay?" she asked.

"Yeah Mom, it went great," he smiled, and moved back towards her. "I can tell you all about it in the morning, if you want," he offered.

She nodded, and hugged him again. "Goodnight," she kissed him on the forehead and sent him upstairs to bed again.

“Goodnight.” Dean hung his head low as he made his way out of the room. He hated making her feel like this. That’s why when he got to the bottom of the stairs, he stopped. “Hey mom?” he called back.

“Yeah?”

“I love you.”

“I love you too, sweetheart,” she said, wiping her eyes.

With that, Dean went upstairs to knock on Sam’s door. It was hardly two seconds between when he knocked and when the door swung upon. Sam reached out for Dean’s arm and yanked him inside the room, shutting the door once they were both inside.

“Dude! I’ve got a date with Jess tomorrow night!” Sam shook his brother by the shoulders, wide eyed and grinning from ear to ear.

Dean took a couple seconds to process this sudden burst of information. “Wait. Are- are you serious?!”

“Yeah! Dead serious! I asked her for her number yesterday and we’ve been texting all day today and now… I asked her on a date, Dean, and she said yes!”

Dean gaped at him. “Oh my god, that’s… that’s awesome, Sammy!” A grin broke onto Dean’s face as well. He scooped his brother off the ground into a crushing hug.

“Okay, okay, put me down!” Sam squeaked. He may have been getting bigger, but he still wasn’t bigger than Dean. Not yet, anyway.

Dean obliged and they both fell back onto Sam’s bed, sighing in unison.

“So what did you do today, huh? Mister Freak Out the Family?” Sam asked, lightly slapping Dean on the arm.

"Hey! Maybe I wouldn't have been home so late if I actually had a car I could use and I didn't have to friggin' walk everywhere!"

"So get a car! You've got a license!” Sam threw his hands up in frustration.

“I know! But according to Mom and Bobby, I’m not getting a car until I can pay for one myself,” Dean lamented. His thoughts strayed back to the beautiful black car in Bobby’s garage: a 1967 Chevy Impala. It used to be his dad’s before he died in that car crash all those years ago, and Dean had been working with Bobby on repairing it and keeping it clean inside and out. He salivated at the thought of getting behind the wheel of her one day.

Sam apparently saw right through this. “You’re thinking about the Impala again, aren’t you?” he said after a moment of silence.

“Damn right I am. That’s car’s gonna be mine someday, Sammy. Don’t you doubt it for a second.”

Sam scoffed. “Yeah, keep dreaming Dean. That car was Dad’s. What makes you think they’ll actually give it to you?”

“Eh, well with my luck lately, anything’s possible,” Dean smiled to himself.

“Oh your _luck_?” Sam raised his eyebrows. “I thought the entire school treated you like a doormat. By all means enlighten me.”

Dean hesitated, but decided it was better to just come out and say it. “Cas kissed me,” he said, a wistful smile creeping onto his face.

Sam bolted upright, staring at Dean incredulously. “You’re shitting me!” he said, mouth hanging open.

“Nope, I am not shitting you,” he shook his head.

“Did you… Did you kiss him back?” Sam questioned.

Dean shrugged. “Eventually.”

“The fuck does that mean?”

“The fuck do you think it means? He kissed me, I froze, he got upset, I kissed him.”

Sam smiled and looked down at the floor. “Wow. So I’m guessing that’s why you were out so late?” he winked.

“Shut the hell up.”

 **** ***

Monday was a mess. A wonderful, terrifying mess. Dean was still on Cloud 9 when he got back to school, which horrified his friends. His friends who, every time on Monday that Dean and Cas snuck glances at each other or threw a wink in the other’s direction, Dean wondered how in the hell he planned on keeping this from them.

Between classes, Dean managed to pass by the theatre classroom. Today was the day that the cast list was to be posted for West Side Story, and though Dean felt his audition went terribly, and there was no way that Mrs. Hanscum would cast Dean in it despite the lack of males in the theatre department, he felt the need to check the list for his name.

Apparently he had seriously overestimated his school’s talent.

“Oh, _fuck yeah_ …” Dean said under his breath, doing a triumphant fist pump.

****

**Cast list**

**Maria………………..Lisa Braeden**

**Tony………….....Dean Winchester**

**Riff…………..……..Adam Milligan**

**Anita………….Amelia Richardson**

****

That was all Dean was needed to see before he was swept away by hallway traffic once again and pushed towards his last class of the day.

 *******

The next week, rehearsals started. Being in a musical definitely wasn’t what he expected it to be. It was his first show, and if he was being honest, it was a lot more difficult than he had ever imagined. A lesson he definitely learned the hard way: dancing is a lot harder than it looks. And singing. And sometimes, even rhythmic snapping. Overall though, he loved it. He was good at it. He had a lot of work to do, but he was good. And being the lead, it made him respected among the cast. Borderline popular- something he'd never been before.

The only thing that made him really want a break from the rehearsals, though, was the rest of the goddamn cast and crew. Dean had apparently forgotten to look at the rest of the list, a simple action that would have spared him the torment of finding out that Crowley of all people was the Props Master. Sure, Lisa was nice and pretty good-looking, (which was nice considering the fact that he would have to kiss her,) but the rest of the cast was a pain in the ass. _‘Theatre kids...’_ he would curse to himself, before remembering that he was one of them himself.

By the second week of rehearsals, he was wiped. Marie was coming down on them hard with every little thing, because apparently Mrs. Hanscum thought it would be a good idea to appoint her to the rank of stage manager. Crowley couldn’t give less of a shit about anything, which almost got him kicked out on multiple occasions, but then it was realized that there would be no one to replace him.

One day, when learning their songs and building harmonies, they were allowed to take a short break for water while the music teacher went to print out another copy of a permission form for Adam, who kept losing his. Dean grabbed his water bottle and sat against the wall, watching as everyone burst into excited chatter around him, except for one lanky blond boy in the corner.

Dean got up and walked over to him. “Hey,” he said, sitting down in the empty seat next to him.

“Oh! Dean!” the boy jumped in surprise and gathered his things, looking like he was ready to be kicked out of spot. “Sorry, I’ll move if you-

“Dude, it’s fine. Sit back down,” Dean ordered. The kid looked at Dean with fearful eyes, but it seemed to be more out of respect and disbelief. “I’ve seen you around before. What’s your name?”

“Samandriel,” he answered.

Dean whistled. “That’s a mouthful. You got a nickname?”

“Well… Not really. Sometimes people call me Alfie, but I’m not sure that I like it that much,” Samandriel looked back to his shoes.

“Alfie? How do you get Alfie from Samandriel?” Dean asked incredulously.

“You don’t. There was a mix up with nametags when I first came to my job, and I had accidentally been wearing a nametag that said “Alfie” on it all day, and didn’t even know. So then people just started calling me that and never really stopped.”

“Oh,” Dean frowned. “That sucks, man. I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay,” Samandriel shrugged. “You can call me Alfie if you want.”

Dean shook his head. “Nah, I only want to if you want me to,” he smiled, assuring Samandriel that he meant to be his friend.

Samandriel seemed to sit a little taller after that.

More weeks passed by, and eventually Dean came to like some of the people in his cast. Most of them were in his theatre class, but he had never really talked to them unless it was necessary for a scene or something similar. As they got further into rehearsals, they became more comfortable around each other grew closer together in general. Overall, Dean felt that this year was shaping up to be a good one so far, as far as school goes.

Oh yeah, and then there was Cas. The two of them made sure to pass by each other in the hallways and send each other texts throughout the day. Sure, it was great that they were technically together now, but _damn_ it hurt like hell to not be able to actually hear his voice or- God forbid- touch him. They hadn’t been able to talk in person ever since their date at the arcade, which was going on a month now.

Luckily, however, fall break was coming soon, and they were determined to fix that.


	10. Love Is Like a Roof- Don't Fall

When fall break came, everyone in the entire school breathed a collective sigh of relief. It seemed that the long awaited arrival of sweater weather was the one thing that everyone could agree on.

On Tuesday during break, Cas was finally able to get out of the house and drive to Dean’s house, which luckily ended up not being that far away once he had gotten the address from Dean. And okay, maybe he should have texted Dean that he was coming over before actually coming over, but it shouldn’t be too much of a problem, right?

Cas pulled up to the small house at noon in his hand-me-down car (Gabriel always called it the pimpmobile) before stepping out into the late-October air. The freezing wind was blowing in his face, causing him to pull up the collar of the navy blue hoodie he was wearing and shove his hands in the pockets of his jeans. He walked up to the front porch and knocked on the door. It swung open seconds later to- not Dean.

A small moose of a boy was at the door in his pajamas, looking at him with a perfected expression of _“Who the hell are you?”_. He looked not much younger than Dean, almost his height with shaggy brown hair.

“Hello. I’m, uhh… Is Dean home?” Cas attempted to stutter out an introduction. This kid was strangely intimidating.

“Sammy, who’s at the door?” Cas heard Dean’s voice from inside the house.

“I don’t know, he hasn’t told me yet…” Sam called back, looking Cas over, “but he wants to see you.”

The next moment, Dean was making his way to the door. Cas held up his hand in a small wave. After a second, Dean’s eyes lit up with recognition and soon he was shoving his little brother out of the way to scoop Cas up in a crushing hug.

“Cas!” he said, squeezing him.

“Hello, Dean,” Cas laughed, throwing his arms around Dean and laughing into the crook of his neck.

“I missed you,” Dean said after a moment of simply standing and hugging each other.

Sam cleared his throat, and they broke apart. That apparently didn’t stop Dean from taking Cas’s hand.

“Sam, this is Cas. Cas, this is my brother, Sam,” he introduced them.

Sam straightened himself and stepped forward, extending a hand. “Oh! Dude, I’m so sorry! I didn’t realize…”

“It’s okay,” Cas laughed, shaking Sam’s hand.

Dean clapped his hands together. “Alright, I’m freezing my ass off out here, come on inside!” he said, and bounded back in the house.

Cas was the last one to walk inside. He stopped to look around before following Dean, who was already on the first step of the stairs.

“You have a lovely home,” Cas said. He loved the feel of this house much more than his own, which in comparison was huge and, if he was being honest, cold and boring.

“Thanks,” Dean said, turning around and extending a hand to Cas.

Cas was about to grab his hand when a blonde woman who Cas could only assume was Dean’s mom entered the room.

"Oh! Hi!" she greeted him awkwardly out of surprise.

“Oh. Mom, this is Cas!” Dean stepped aside and gestured to his boyfriend.

"It’s nice to meet you, Cas,” she pulled him into a hug.

Cas smiled at the welcome. “Nice to meet you, too!”

"If you hurt my son, I will make your life Hell, understand me?" Mary whispered in his ear, and pulled out of the hug, still smiling.

Cas's eyes widened at the threat, but nodded and smiled at her through the chill that ran down his spine.

"Well," Mary looked between the two of them, "you kids go on and... have fun, then."

They waited until she left the room again before Dean nodded towards the stairs, taking Cas’s hand and scrambling up to his room.

Dean lead Cas to his room, and while Dean was frantically picking things up and shoving them either into random dresser drawers or his closet, Cas stood back and admired the room. The walls were covered with prints of fifty year old muscle cars, and various posters for Marvel movies and sci-fi classics. On the floor next to his bed was an old music player that must have doubled up for CDs and cassettes, judging by the giant stack of both right next to it. Cas sat down on the bed, kicking off his shoes.

“Sorry, I would have cleaned all this up if I had known you were coming over,” Dean said.

“I like it,” Cas smiled at him after a moment.

Dean laughed, sitting next to Cas on the bed. He rested his hand on Cas’s knee and leaned in closer to him.

Cas put one of his hands on top of Dean’s while the other migrated to cup Dean’s cheek, and kissed him softly. “I missed you.”

“I missed you too,” Dean whispered before pressing their lips together again. “It’s been way too long…”

“I know, right?” Cas muttered between kisses, “It’s like we need to have kissing schedules or something.”

“Schedules? Cas, I didn’t know you were such a nerd,” Dean grinned, placed his hands on Cas’s waist.

“Oh, _I’m_ the nerd?” Cas laughed, poking Dean’s stomach, which proved to be a good decision- for Cas at least. Dean ended up giggling like a schoolgirl and falling onto his back, batting Cas’s hands away from his abdomen.

“Stop it! Cas, stop it!” he snickered.

Cas climbed on top of Dean, sitting in his lap, more than pleased with his revelation. “Ticklish, are we?” he smirked, continuing the torture until Dean grabbed his hands and sat straight up.

Cas could have sworn that Dean was being entirely serious if it weren’t for the smug smile that crept its way onto Dean’s face when he said: “Fight me, bitch!”

Cas readjusted himself with a knee on either side of Dean, hands still trapped in Dean’s grip. He struggled a bit, trying to get his hands free to tickle him, before looking Dean straight in the eye with the most deadpan look he could muster. “Let’s go, _assbutt_.”

If Dean wasn’t laughing before, he was now. He fell back with a howl of laughter, letting go of Cas’s hands to instead clutch his own sides. Cas would be lying if he said it wasn’t the cutest laugh he had ever heard.

“What?” Cas asked, tilting his head. As much as he was enjoying making Dean laugh, what he said surely couldn’t have been _that_ funny. He moved to lie down next to Dean.

Dean rolled over to his side to face Cas, wiping tears of laughter from his eyes. “Ah, nothing,” he sighed, and moved to slightly hover above Cas’s face. “You’re just really cute, that’s all.”

Cas beamed at him, and began to nudge him once again. “Hey. Hey, Dean. Can I tell you a secret?”

“Shoot.”

Cas propped himself up on his elbows to whisper in Dean’s ear. “I really, really like you.”

“I know.” Dean crushed their lips together once more.

It was at that moment that Castiel knew that this would never get old.

***

Only minutes later, Cas was following Dean up the ladder to the attic. He honestly had no clue why they were going up there, but was counting on an explanation once they had gotten up there.

It was dark and rather gloomy, and this must have been first time that anyone had been up there in a couple years, since the mere action of opening the door and, well, moving, was enough to unsettle the dust that had been resting up there for who knows how long. They coughed and waved the dust out of their faces before Dean lead them to a stack of boxes near the window.

“I thought this would be a nice place to talk,” Dean said, leaning on the windowsill.

“Why couldn’t we talk in your room?” Cas asked.

Dean shrugged. “I like it up here. More privacy, I guess. Plus, you never really know what you might find up here.” Dean said, taking a couple steps toward Cas.

“You better not be some serial killer, Winchester…” Cas muttered.

“Nah, I like you way too much to murder you,” Dean chuckled. “No, but seriously. Like that stack of cassettes in my room? Found ‘em right in here,” he said, knocking on the top of a cardboard box.

Cas wandered towards a stack of picture frames. Sitting on top was a photo of a little boy- no older than five- and his father, each holding the leg of a rabbit that they must have caught together. He traced his fingers around the side of the frame.

“Is… Is this you?” Cas asked, holding the picture out to Dean.

Dean stood only inches away from Cas, taking the picture and handling it gently. “Huh,” he said, studying the photo. “Yeah. I remember that day. My first time hunting. Mom kept saying I was too young, but… I remember when we caught that rabbit together... he was so proud of me…” Dean recalled, getting lost in thought.

“... You loved your dad a lot, didn’t you?”

“Yeah, I did. He… He was my hero. I remember I always wanted to grow up and be just like my old man. Like that leather jacket I wear all the time? My dad’s. Found it when I was looking through shit up here when I was, what… thirteen?” Dean’s face had completely dropped at this point. “I remember, when I found that old thing, I didn’t even tell my mom. I had just put it on the next morning getting ready for school. When she saw me… it was like she was seeing a ghost.”

Cas sighed. He had seen that jacket way too many times to not know what Dean was talking about. He remembered Dean wearing it the first time they met. The God Squad had teased him about it so many times, like it was something that should be thrown in a fire. Remembering how his friends always talked about Dean sent a flash of anger through Cas, especially knowing now why Dean loved it so much. He slipped an arm around Dean’s waist in an attempt to comfort him.

This seemed to snap Dean out of his daze. “Anyway,” he said, setting the picture down, “I wanted to show you something.”

Cas followed Dean’s lead back to the window, where he sat down on the floor, pulling something out from between a stack of boxes and the wall. A record player. He plugged it into the nearby power outlet and stood up to grab the cardboard box on top of the closest stack, flipping it open when he sat back down. This time, Cas followed and plopped down on the floor next to him.

“Alright… What do we want to listen to?” Dean looked up at Cas and smiled while flipping through the stack of LPs he pulled out. “You wanna look through some of these?” he asked, handing a sizeable amount of them to Cas.

They looked through the records, shouting out the names of artists they came across that seemed appealing to listen to at the time. Until…

“Billy Joel?” Dean suggested.

Cas almost slammed the remaining records in his hand down on the floor. (Which would have been very unfortunate, considering the Journey record that he had just come across a second ago.)

“ _I. Love. Billy Joel._ ”

Dean’s face split into a huge grin. “Billy it is, then!” he declared, and carefully slipped the vinyl out of it’s fading paper cover. He gently placed it on the turntable, dropping the needle down ever-so-gingerly and cranking up the volume.

After some of the first notes of “Movin’ Out” reverberated throughout the attic, Cas watched as Dean stood up and opened the window as far as it could go, then moved back to extend a hand to Cas, pulling him to his feet. As one of his hands stayed intertwined with Cas’s, the other was seemed to be feeling around the outside wall for something.

“Dean, what are you doing?”

Dean turned back to Cas, wide eyed. “Do you trust me, Cas?”

Cas’s mouth went dry. _What the hell were they about to do…_ Suddenly Cas found himself nodding.

“Good,” Dean smiled, and pecked him on the cheek.

The song had already changed by the time Dean had found what he was looking for.

_“Well, we all fall in love_

_But we disregard the danger_

_Though we share so many secrets_

_There are some we never tell”_

“Aha!” Dean exclaimed as there was the sound of scraping metal right outside the window. Cas watched as Dean grabbed a rope that appeared seemingly out of nowhere, and stepped out on the roof. Cas poked his head out of the window, looking at Dean incredulously.

“You can’t be serious,” Cas shook his head at Dean, who had grabbed one of the rungs of the metal ladder in favor of the rope, which he handed over to Cas. "Do you even realize how dangerous this is?"

Dean's only response was to turn and wink at Cas, as if to say _"Danger is my middle name, babe,"_ before climbing up the ladder.

Cas watched him disappear onto the rooftop before he poked his head over the edge.

"You comin' or what?"

Cas shrugged. _'Eh, why the hell not?'_ Throwing caution to the wind, he joined Dean, who was lying comfortably on the roof, one hand under his head, watching the clouds drifting above them. Cas lied down beside him, only an inch or two away from Dean, reaching for his hand.

“It’s beautiful up here,” Cas breathed, taking in the view.

Dean sighed, staring up at the gray sky. “My brother and I used to come up here all the time. I mean, I’m not one for heights, but I was starting to miss it, and I thought I’d show you, since… you know, you told me last week that you, you know… love the sky and everything.”

It was true. Cas had always loved the sky, no matter what weather or time of day. He felt comfort in looking up at the sky, and how endless it was. Especially when he got into high school, and everything got more complicated and confusing. It was nice to look up and know that there were things out there so much bigger than him and the never-ending drama that surrounded him. That, and it made him feel closer to God. Despite his caution about this whole roof thing earlier, Cas  loved heights. Craved them, actually. Normally, he would be doing anything to get as high up as he could. In fact, he was once arrested for reading a book on top of a bank building. He constantly felt the sky calling for him. It was where he felt he belonged.

Cas scooted himself over to close the small gap between them, squeezing Dean’s hand and resting his head on Dean’s shoulder.

“Thank you,” he whispered.

Dean turned his head to press a small kiss to Cas’s temple, and together they watched the clouds in silence. Others may have called it wasting the day away, but the two of them couldn’t think of any other way that they’d rather spend their time.

_“I don’t want clever conversation_

_I never want to work that hard_

_I just want someone that I can talk to_

_I want you just the way you are.”_


	11. The Only Thing Scarier Than Stephen King Is A Female Harrison Ford

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! I'm so sorry for the wait, but I hope that the length of the chapter makes up for it, and is enough to hold you out until the next update. No idea when that will be, but I have school check in tomorrow and the school year starts in a little less than a week, so there's really no telling and for that I'm extremely sorry. Also I'd just like to say thank you for all of the kudos and comments that you've been leaving on here!! It really means so much to me and I wish that I could respond to every comment but unfortunately I have nothing with substance to reply with except "thank you", so just know that I do see them and read them and every time someone leaves a comment my heart does a thing. 
> 
> Thought you guys might want to know as well that I entered the first eight chapters of this as a short story length fanfic in a contest at my library, and won fourth place!!!! So yeah I'm really proud of myself for that and just thought I'd share. 
> 
> Love you all dearly!! Enjoy!! <3

The vampire crept his way through the dark corners of the basement, stalking his next victim. He looked forward to hearing the screams of the young blonde. Silently, he made his way up behind her, and leaned down next to her ear.

“BOO!” he screamed, and she jumped out of her seat with a yelp.

“BENNY!!! Don’t fucking do that!” Jo scolded him.

Benny turned away, laughing. "Aw, lighten up Jo! It's Halloween!" he said with a flip of his cape.

"Eh, shut the fuck up." Jo gave Benny a playful shove, and shot him with her prop blaster.

"Watch your mouth, missy," Ellen said, coming downstairs with Charlie behind her. “Just because you’re dressed like a mercenary doesn’t mean you get to talk like one, at least not in my house.”

"Sorry Mom," Jo said, hanging her head.

"The Queen of Moondoor has arrived, my dears," Charlie announced, in expertly hand-made lightweight battle armor, complete with a (harmless) sword hidden in its sheath at her side. She clutched her crown at her side.

"Your Majesty," Benny said and they both bowed.

"As you were," Charlie commanded, and they all clambered for their respective spots on the couch in front of the TV.

"Alright, you guys gonna start your marathon now?" Ellen asked.

Jo snapped her head around to look at her. "Can't, Mom. Sam and Dean aren't here yet."

Ellen raised her eyebrows. "Really? I thought I heard them come in the house earlier."

Benny raised his hand. "No ma'am, that was me."

Ellen nodded. "Alright. Well, have fun," she said less than enthusiastically, and went back upstairs.

“In the meantime, how about some Game of Thrones?” Charlie suggested, grabbing the remote.

“Oh hell no!” Jo snatched the remote out of Charlie’s hand, and stood in front of the TV. “You got to pick, like, half of our last marathon. Plus, my house. Conclusion: I’m picking.”

“Wait, just to clarify something real quick,” Benny cut in, “who are you supposed to be dressed as again?”

Jo stared at him. “I’m Han Solo, dipshit.”

Benny looked slightly puzzled for a second before he said rather quietly: “But you’re a girl.”

Charlie was quick to punch him in the arm, followed by Jo, who had perfect aim in throwing the remote straight at his crotch.

“Ow, okay I deserved that,” he admitted, hands covering the point of impact and rolling off the couch in partially pain, partially shame.

“Damn right you did,” Jo said with satisfied smile. “Now who’s up for some Next Generation?"

***

After much convincing, Mary finally allowed the boys to borrow her car to get to Jo’s house.

“Sammy, come on, we’re gonna be late!” Dean shouted.

“I’m coming, I’m coming!” Sam called back, making his way down the stairs.

Dean held back a laugh at his brother’s costume. “What’s up, Satan?”

Sam jabbed Dean with his foam pitchfork. “Not much, Han Solo.”

Dean rolled his eyes and opened the door. “Ladies first,” he smirked.

Sam only rolled his eyes and slammed the car door behind him as he got into the passenger seat.

Dean took his place in the driver’s seat, and pulled a cassette out of his pocket. He started the car and popped the cassette into the player.

As the first notes of Back In Black played, Sam dropped his head back, rolling his eyes. “Seriously? ACDC? Again?” he deadpanned.

Dean smirked and dropped the case into his brother’s lap. “House rules, Sammy. Driver picks the music, shotgun shuts his cakehole.”

***

“Are you sure you got right directions to her house?” Dean asked Sam, who’s brow furrowed as he pulled out his phone again to look back at the text message.

“I mean… it _looks_ right…” Sam said.

Dean banged his hand against the steering wheel. “Dammit, Sam, she’s your girlfriend! You’ve even been to her house before! You should know these things!”

“Okay, okay! Just take a right here.” Sam demanded.

Dean turned and after a few more yards down that street, Sam sat up a little straighter in his seat.

“That’s it!” Sam announced and Dean parked the car on the opposite side of the street from her house.

Sam and Dean hopped out of the car, Sam bolting up to the porch. However, it took a slight nudge from Dean before he could ring the doorbell.

Moments later, a petite blonde girl whom Dean assumed could only be Jessica answered the door, wearing a quite flattering nurse costume. Sam stuttered out a hello before Dean stepped forward to introduce himself.

“Hi, I’m Jess! It’s nice to meet you; I’ve heard a lot about you,” she smiled amicably and shook Dean’s hand. Dean had a good feeling about this girl already.

After all three of them stood on the porch for an awkward minute, Dean clapped his hands together and pointed back towards the car. “Alright, are we gonna head over to this party or what?

The ride from there to Jo’s house was painfully quiet. Dean still blasted his music the whole way there, and every time he looked back in the mirror at his brother and Jess, they were always sitting the same awkward distance apart, like they were trying to stay as separate from each other as possible, yet he still caught the nervous glances that they sent towards each other constantly.

When they reached Jo’s house, Dean led them up to the door. Not much later after he knocked, the door swung open to Ellen.

Her eyes made one quick sweep over Dean’s costume before she burst out laughing.

Dean stared at her, offended. “Well hello to you too, Ellen.”

It took a couple more seconds of her cackling until she straightened herself out. “Sorry, just, uh…” she started, and almost lost her composure again. “Jo might not be too fond of your costume choices, son.”

Dean held his stare for a few seconds. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Oh, just get your asses downstairs! They’ve all been waiting on you two,” she said and stepped to the side, ushering them in.

“Um… three…” Sam said, revealing Jess behind him.

Ellen looked slightly taken aback by the sight of the blonde girl in front of her, but smiled all the same. “Who's this?”

“I’m Jessica,” she grinned, stepping forward and bouncing slightly on the balls of her feet, suddenly nervous. She looked back at Sam for confirmation that she could tell her, and Sam nodded, redness already flooding his cheeks. “I- I’m Sam’s girlfriend.”

Ellen’s eyebrows shot up. “Oh,” she looked between her and Sam, then smiled (although both Sam and Dean knew that on the inside she was having a protective, rather maternal moment for her youngest godson). “Well, get on downstairs. Have fun. It’s nice to meet you, Jessica.”

“Nice to meet you, too!” Jess chirped before following the boys down to the basement.

Dean heard the chattering of the Nerd Herd on the way down the stairs. When they got to the bottom of the staircase, Dean knocked on the doorframe to get their attention. Charlie was the first one to whip her head around to look at them and stood up to greet them.

“Hey guys!” she beamed, running over to hug both of them.

“Oh my god, are you _kidding me?!_ ” Jo stood up, and marched over to confront Dean about… something that he wasn’t really sure about. At least he wasn’t sure until he noticed that they were wearing exactly the same costume.

“Oh…” Dean whispered to himself upon realizing why Ellen was laughing at him, then proceeded to laugh at it himself. “I’m sorry, Jo, I didn’t realize…”

“See! This is why we need to coordinate our costumes so shit like this doesn’t happen!” Charlie chimed in.

“Shit like this happening is the exact reason that we _don’t_ coordinate this, Charlie!” Benny corrected her. “Because now I think it’s time for a little round of ‘Who Wore It Better?’? Don’t you think?”

Sam nodded, and Dean shot him a warning look of “you better fuckin’ vote for me”.

Benny counted down until he, Charlie, and Sam all voiced their opinions simultaneously. The votes were unanimous: Jo.

“Dammit!” Dean shouted, and Jo stuck her tongue out at him.

Some short introductions were made with the group and Jess, and soon they were all stacked up on the couch with Sam and Jess huddled together on the floor, ready to start the marathon. It was decided that this year’s theme was “so-bad-it’s-good” horror movies, making the kickoff of their marathon The Children of the Corn. Through the entire movie, they threw popcorn at the screen and shouted various obscenities at the characters, mostly things along the lines of: “Oh my god, just GET OUT OF THERE YOU DUMB FUCK.”

Everything was going just fine, until Cas texted him.

**From: Cas**

**\---Hey! Doing anything tonight?---**

Dean felt his stomach flip. There were still the butterflies because Cas texted him, and he was always happy to talk to his (pretty much official, but still secret) boyfriend.

**To: Cas**

**\---i am actually :( y?---**

**From: Cas**

**\---Oh. :( I was wondering if you would want to come to this party that my brother is throwing tonight at my house. I know that our friends probably wouldn’t want you there, but I was thinking you could just sneak in and we could just make out in a closet or something. ;)---**

_‘Fuck, that sounds hot...’_ Dean felt a blush rising to his cheeks, one that he tried to hide from his friends by slightly turning away and trying to cover most of his face with his hand. It wasn’t enough.

“Hey, what’s up with you?” Charlie asked, nudging him with her knee.

Dean whipped around to look at her, eyes wide in defense. “Nothing!”

“Bullshit. You’re texting someone,” she said, and held out her hand as a gesture for him to hand her the phone, which he would rather die than do. She hadn’t meant to antagonize him, and Dean knew that deep down, but he went into full on defense mode.

“What? No I’m not!” he protested. He didn't even think, but knew that he had to get rid of the phone in his hand before they saw it. Unfortunately, when this idea was translated into an action, it meant Dean flinging his phone to the other side of the room.

Charlie's eyes went wide as she watched the phone fly out of his hand. She looked between the phone and Dean, who starred at her, in shock of what he had just done.

Dean felt like he just threw the entirety of what little he had left of a social life off a cliff along with the phone. The few friends that he had would soon be gone- he knew it. And Cas, too. If this got out, his social life would be in the shit as well. It was a simple fact. Their lives were gone. All gone...

_'Unless...'_

As soon as the obvious switch flipped on in his head, he scrambled off the couch and made a break for his phone. However, Charlie could apparently read minds, since the same second that he got up, she followed- and with a vengeance. She let out a battle cry (that you wouldn't expect to be so scary, coming out of a small red headed girl), and tackled him to the ground.

On his stomach, Dean threw his arms out and tried to squirm his way to the objective. This proved to be rather difficult with Charlie on top of him, pinning him to the floor and downright wrestling with him. Her fingertips were level with his- almost there. Dean took a cheap shot and swatted her hand away. He could (and would) have fought back more aggressively with anyone else, but the last thing that he wanted to do was to hurt one of his friends- ever. He somehow managed to launch himself forward far enough to wrap his fingers around the phone. However, this also allowed Charlie to do the same.

Amidst their struggle, they soon got to their feet and were in a sort of tug of war, neither keen on the idea of letting go. The rest of the group watched the battle in horror.

"Dean, just give it to me!" Charlie commanded, giving it a great heave.

"NO!" he yelled, yanking it back.

"By resisting any further, you will be committing high treason against the Queen of Moondoor!" she declared, staring him straight in the eyes.

Dean felt only a flash of trepidation before deciding that he didn't really give a shit. He waited a long ass time to be able to call Cas his boyfriend and he wasn't about to give that up.

"FOR FREEDOM!!!" he cried, and gave his phone one last tug out of Charlie's hands. He didn't hear Jo interrupt him.

"Oh Jesus fucking Christ, just HAND OVER THE GODDAMN PHONE!" Jo shouted and promptly snatched it out of Dean's hand.

The second the phone left Dean's hand, his stomach plummeted. She was just about to unlock it when Sam (bless his soul), plucked it away from her.

"Guys! Stop it!" Sam yelled with a cracking voice above all of their bickering. "Just leave him alone! Give the guy some fucking privacy, would you?!"

Dean heaved a sigh of relief as Sam handed his phone back to him. He had the best little brother in the world...

After quite a bit of grumbling from Charlie and Jo, they turned back to the movie, where more eighteen year olds were being sacrificed to "He Who Lies Beneath the Rows" or whatever the hell it was. It seemed like the only things they could all agree on tonight were that Jo was a better Han Solo, and that Stephen King was high as a kite when he wrote that damn book.

Dean felt his phone vibrate in his pocket, and received a couple dirty looks as he pulled it out again.

**From: Cas**

**\---I crossed a line, didn’t I?---**

**To: Cas**

**\---what? what do u mean---**

**From: Cas**

**\---I said some rather explicit things, and we’ve never exactly been that physical in our relationship. From you lack of response I assumed that I made you uncomfortable, and for that I apologize.---**

Dean couldn’t help but laugh to himself. While it did kind of turn him on, it was hardly explicit. Dean wanted to tell Cas that it wasn’t anything against him, that the only reason they hadn’t done more than a few kisses here and there was because they were never really alone. However, instead, he resorted to flirting his way out of it.

**To: Cas**

**\---babe the only discomfort u caused me was in my pants ;)---**

**From: Cas**

**\---Oh. Well then…---**

**To: Cas**

**\---im sorry i didnt txt back. i got in a fight with my friends nd they almost found out abt us---**

**From: Cas**

**\---WHAT?! Is everything okay?? They don’t know, right???---**

**To: Cas**

**\---they dont kno. its fine now i took care of it---**

**To: Cas**

**\---nd ok sammy helped a little bit 2---**

**To: Cas**

**\---hes satan---**

**From: Cas**

**\---??? I thought you love your brother. Why are you calling him Satan?---**

Dean chuckled and turned to his friends.

“Hey guys, group selfie,” he said, and they all crowded together. Charlie and Jo paired up to hold each other’s legs in the most perverse way possible, Benny flashed his cape and showed his fangs. Sam stuck his tongue out at the camera, with Jess cuddled up to him under his arm, smiling sweetly and blissfully unaware of the madness going on around her. Dean grinned and took the picture, sending it to Cas.

**To: Cas**

**\---see? hes literally satan---**

**From: Cas**

**\---Ohhh okay. I was very confused :P. My brother on the other hand…---**

**To: Cas**

**\---lol yeah i get that XD---**

**From: Cas**

**\---No you don’t understand---**

**From: Cas**

**\---My oldest brother’s name is Lucifer.---**

**From: Cas**

**\---He’s fucking terrifying---**

**To: Cas**

**\---oh geez im sorry---**

**To: Cas**

**\---no offense but who tf names their kid lucifer?---**

**From: Cas**

**\---My parents are very… strange people. The most normal name of anyone in our family is my sister Hannah.---**

**To: Cas**

**\---hmmm i always wondered what cas is short for…---**

**From: Cas**

**\---.................no---**

**To: Cas**

**\---come oooooonn babe u can tell me---**

**From: Cas**

**\---You have to promise me you won’t tell anyone. I can’t stand people calling me that. I mean it. No one can know.---**

**To: Cas**

**\---ok, i promise. i wont tell a soul---**

**From: Cas**

**\---Castiel---**

Dean took a moment to squint at the name, trying to make sure he was pronouncing it correctly in his head. Although he had never seen or heard the name before in his life, he decided that- he liked it. It was strange, but oddly fitting. In a weird way, the name had so much in it. It was both endearing and intimidating, welcoming and terrifying. Dean all of a sudden understood completely why his parents chose the name.

**To: Cas**

**\---i like it---**

**From: Cas**

**\---Don’t lie. It doesn’t suit you.---**

**To: Cas**

**\---maybe not, but that name suits u. y dont u like it???---**

**From: Cas**

**\---I’d rather not talk about it, if that’s okay…---**

Dean felt a sinking feeling in his gut. As much as he wanted to know, he knew better than to push Cas. It was better to give him as much space as he wanted.

**To: Cas**

**\---yea, thats ok. maybe some other time?---**

**From: Cas**

**\---Maybe. Thank you.---**

They left the subject alone for the rest of the night, instead talking about the Novak family, which is apparently much bigger than Dean had ever thought. Apparently, Cas had his brothers Gabriel and Lucifer, and an older sister named Hannah, who he missed more and more with every day that she was off getting her PhD on the other side of the country. She was the only one in their family that wasn't named after an angel. He also had more cousins than he cared to count, and an uncle named Gadreel who had been locked away on a life sentence since before Cas was born.

It was at this point that Dean told Cas about his closeness with the Harvelle family, (“Yes, I _do_ mean the scary English teacher,”), and his dad’s best friend Bobby, who had become more or less a father to him over the years.

As the night passed on, Dean had spent more time texting his boyfriend than laughing along with his friends at Sharknado movies and low budget werewolves. By the time it was midnight and the brothers were headed home, Dean had raised a sufficient amount of suspicion. He lay in bed that night unable to think of anything other than coming up with a damn good excuse to save their asses.

Underneath that, however, there was a name that rang through his dreams that night.

_Castiel_


	12. The Angels May Be Dicks, But That Doesn't Mean You Don't Want One

When November hit, the only thing colder than the skies were the souls of the students whose lives were going further and further down the drain, and the shoulder that Jo was giving to Dean. The semester was almost over, and finals were growing closer and closer, leaving students in a caffeine induced hysteria. Some kids found ways to distract themselves, though. Some went on the internet, some hung out with friends with the excuse to their parents that they were studying. Some enjoyed ganging up on Dean to force him inside his own locker right before class starts.

Dean was thankfully able to squirm just enough to pull his phone out of his pocket and up in front of his eyes.

**To: Angel**

**\---please come to my locker and open it for me the code is 13-6-7---**

**From: Angel**

**\---Right now?---**

**To: Angel**

**\---yes cas right now---**

**From: Angel**

**\---Dean, class just started. We couldn’t have done this earlier?---**

**To: Angel**

**\---DAMMIT CAS JUST COME GET ME OUT OF MY LOCKER---**

As he shoved his phone back in his pocket, his head started throbbing. He had hit his head and been punched in the face plenty of times, but _fuck_ , this hurt. Michael must have hit Dean’s head when he slammed the door on him, and hit him _hard_.

Dean waited for as long as he could in the darkness and deafening silence before he started to panic. What was really only thirty seconds felt like five minutes to him, and soon he found himself running out of air. He had never been trapped inside one of these things before, and until this day was grateful for it. His breathing picked up, which he imagined was not helping his situation, since there didn’t seem to be much of an air supply in here. He raised his hands above his head, pressing out on the walls and banging on the door.

Dean missed the warning sounds of the click of the padlock before his world was flooded with light and fresh air filled his lungs once again. He gasped for air and frantically tried to worm his way out of the tight space, but almost fell flat on his face in doing so. With half of his torso already out and his eyes still adjusting to the burst of light, he felt one hand pulling him out by the wrist, and another that planted itself on his left shoulder as soon as it had popped out of the locker. He wasn’t sure what either of them might have been saying at the time, but he heard Cas’s voice clear as a bell.

“Dean, oh my god…” he heard Cas mutter, and soon after, he was pulled into a tight embrace, free from the locker. Cas began to card his fingers through Dean’s hair. “Are you okay?” Dean could hear the panic in his voice.

Despite the fact that he meant to say, “Yeah, Cas, I’m fine,” he only squeaked out “Cas,” and hugged him tightly around the waist, trying to calm himself down.

“Shh… It’s okay, baby, I’m here,” Cas whispered in a soothing voice, and pressed a kiss to Dean’s temple, in the meantime accidentally putting pressure on the exact spot the door slammed into.

“Ow,” Dean whimpered involuntarily, bringing a hand up to hold his own head, which was pounding.

Cas stood back, holding Dean at arms length. “Dean? What’s wrong?”

“ _Fuck_ , that hurts like a bitch,” Dean gritted his teeth, hardly even noticing Cas.

“Dean, _what hurts_?” Cas demanded.

Dean shook his head, wincing, before answering. “I think… I think I hit my head or something… On the door...”

“Let me see.”

Dean lowered his hands and Cas inspected his injury.

“Shit,” Cas muttered to himself. “We need to get you to the nurse. Come on,” he stated simply, in a voice that Dean that was much more calm and practiced that it should have been. Cas put his arm around Dean’s waist, and Dean slung his arm over Cas’s shoulder, to help with the dizziness that was only just slightly subsiding.

“Is it bleeding?” Dean asked.

Cas kept his eyes straight ahead. “No, but it is very red and will most likely start to swell if we don’t get ice on it soon.”

Dean paused for a moment. “How do you know all this shit?”

Cas pursed his lips and looked down at the floor, seemingly ashamed. His response was rather ambiguous in Dean's mind. “Experience,” Cas said, and kept them walking.

When they got to the nurse’s office, she looked anything but surprised at Dean’s appearance. “What happened this time?” she asked in a rather tired but caring voice.

It was only when Cas spoke that she noticed his presence. “I found him locked inside his locker. The door hit him in the head fairly hard when it was slammed shut on him, and I think he’s still calming down from his panic attack.”

The nurse made her way over to them, pulling over a chair for Dean to sit down. “Thank you for bringing him to me. He’s usually very resistant to getting any sort of help.”

“Hey! I resent that remark!” Dean spat, as he lowered himself into a chair.

They both ignored him.

“It was no problem, Miss…” Cas said, trying to figure out her name.

“Please, just call me Tessa,” she said, extending a hand to him.

“Cas,” he said, shaking her hand.

They turned their attention back to Dean, who was sitting with his head in his hands, staring down at the floor. He was still wincing from the pulsing pain in his skull.

“Hey, can you sit up and let me see it? Just for a second,” Tessa spoke gently, placing a hand on his elbow. Cas sat down next to Dean, and watched with concern, taking Dean’s hand as he started to sit up.

“Yeah, yeah…” Dean grumbled, obviously not wanting to move.

Tessa looked over his head quickly, finding the spot that was getting redder. She pursed her lips at the sight of the minor bump that was forming.

“Hmph. I think for now, just put some ice on it to keep it from swelling. Do you think you need a painkiller?” she said, walking over to the freezer to grab an ice pack and rummaging through the cabinets for ibuprofen.

“Yeah,” Dean repeated, rubbing hand over his face, at the same time feeling Cas rubbing a gentle hand over his back. He turned his head to give Cas a small smile, and attempt to lie and say he was completely fine. When Cas smiled back, it was full of pity.

Tessa came back with the ice pack, and Dean held it to his head, leaning back in his seat and closing his eyes, Tessa at the same time leaving the room to get more of whatever it is she needed- Dean didn’t catch it.

When the ice pack started to get slippery, he lost his grip on it, and Cas caught it in his hand just before it hit the ground. He held it back up to Dean’s wound, placing his other hand on Dean’s wrist, rubbing gentle circles with his thumb, which did little to help Dean’s dizziness, but it was a loving gesture.

“Are you okay?” Cas asked. Dean thought it was a bit of a stupid question, but there hadn’t really been much else to say.

Dean shrugged. He’d lie and say he was fine, but he couldn’t exactly find the energy to speak.

“...Do you want me to kiss it and make it better?” Cas asked after a pause, eyebrows raised and smirking.

If Dean was actually looking at him, he would have noticed that he was being semi-sarcastic. Instead, he just shrugged. Within two seconds, Cas leaned over the chairs and moved the ice pack to press a quick, gentle kiss to Dean’s head. He couldn’t help the smile that crept it’s way onto his face as Cas scooted the chairs closer together, and adjusted himself so he could cuddle up to him more.

“You’re an angel, you know that?” Dean heard the words slipping out of his mouth before he could consider holding them in at all.

“Well, it makes sense, I was named after one,” Cas said smugly, trying to get more comfortable.

Dean leaned into Cas’s touch. “Eh, shaddup…”

When Tessa decided that that it was fine for Dean to go back to class, Cas walked with Dean back to his class, hand in hand with each other. Every so often one would stop to kiss the other, before they eventually got Dean to his English class with Harvelle, blissfully unaware of the pair of eyes that was tracking them.

***

Only twenty minutes later, the bell rang and the school day was over. Dean grabbed his things and was about to head out the door when Ellen stopped him.

"Dean, may I speak to you for a minute?" The tone of her voice sent a chill down his spine.

"Yes, Mrs. Harvelle?" he spun around.

"Boy, it's not Mrs. Harvelle that you should be worrying about right now. It's Ellen."

Dean froze. He knew that this was about to get serious, he was just hoping with all he had that it wasn't about what he thought it was about.

"Have a seat," she said. Her voice was much calmer than Dean would've liked it to be. He'd much rather she yelled and screamed at him than speaking so quietly that he could practically hear the disappointment he knew she would try to hide. Dean sat down at the desk nearest to her, and she leaned on the front edge of her desk, looking down and seemingly preparing herself for the conversation.

"What's this about?" Dean croaked out, and felt lucky that his voice was still semi-functional at this point.

"Dean, we're family. Always have been, and that's just the way it is, always will be. I think we can agree on that, right?"

"Yeah, of course, Ellen," he said, his brow furrowing in suspicion. "What's up? Is something wrong?"

Ellen sighed. "Boy, what I'm trying to say is, we care about you, me and Jo. I get worried about you sometimes. I get wonderin' about things. And I've really been wonderin' what the hell happened at that party." There was a bite coming through her voice now, and at this point she was thoroughly scaring the shit out of Dean.

"I- I don't- what do you- I- what- what- what do you mean?" He stammered, trying to play dumb.

Ellen rolled her eyes and set her jaw. "Why don't you tell me a little bit about who you were texting on Halloween?"

Dean snapped back with his usual defensive snark, "What is this, an interrogation? Can I get a lawyer first-"

"OR, how about," she raised her voice, then quieted herself, doing her best to keep her temper, "how 'bout you tell me a little something about the little goodbye kiss you just gave Cas Novak right outside my classroom window?"

Dean's mouth went dry. She couldn't have seen it... No. No, this couldn't be happening...

"I ain't blind, boy," she said. "Now is there something you wanna tell me?"

Again, Dean's head filled with wonderful thoughts of fleeing to Canada. He wasn't even thinking about anything specific to say to her, just any way to get out of the situation. Any way to salvage his relationship with both Cas and his friends.

“Don’t tell Jo,” he choked

Ellen shook her head. “I won’t tell Jo,” she continued, “but here’s the deal: you gotta tell me just what the hell is going on. Now, you can decide for yourself what you wanna tell me, but if you give me a bullshit answer- and I _will_ be able to tell if it’s bullshit- I go home and just tell Jo what I saw. The choice is yours.” She leaned against the desk and crossed her arms over her chest, waiting for an answer. “School’s over, Jo’s walking over to softball practice as we speak, we’ve practically got all day,” she shrugged.

Dean took a shaky breath. “Okay…” he resigned.

It was thirty eight minutes. Thirty eight agonizing minutes until he had told Ellen the whole truth, going all the way back to freshman year, and all the way through the day they went to the arcade together. Ellen simply nodded the whole time, understanding in her eyes.

“...and I was just… I was scared, okay? Are you happy now?” Dean ran his shaking hands through his hair.

“Dean, one of your best friends, your ex girlfriend, is a lesbian, and none of you have any problem with it. I sure as hell don’t have a problem with it. You really think all your friends are just gonna up and leave you because of something like that?”

“...Yes?” Dean answered truthfully, for once in his life.

Ellen huffed. “I know I can’t tell you what to do- I’m not your mother. But whether or not you decide to come out to your friends, or tell them about Cas, you’re a good kid, Dean, and I trust you’ll make the right decision.”

Dean nodded, his eyes flitting all over the place. “Are we done here?” he asked.

Ellen nodded. “Sure. Take care of yourself, Dean,” she said, and he was already picking up his backpack.

“Yeah…” Dean mumbled, heading out the door. His mind was hardly in the conversation by the end of it. He wasn’t sure where it was, but it wasn’t there. It didn’t take him long, however, to decide that he _was_ going to make the right decision.

And that decision was to be more careful about who might see the next time he kisses his boyfriend.


	13. Blackmail Is the Answer to Everything

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Deep shit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guys!!! I finally did it! I finally updated! (As you can see, duh.) I'm wondering who is more excited here. You guys or me. (Probably me.) I'm so sorry for the wait- this chapter turned out a lot longer than I had originally planned, so I guess that's good? Once again I want to thank all of you that read this and keep up with it. It really means a lot to me that people are enjoying my work, and every time I see that the number of kudos has gone up even the tiniest bit, my heart does a thing. Thank you so much for being patient through the almost-month between the last chapter and this one. Even if you weren't that patient and just chanting "update update update" 24/7 and wanted to throw a brick at my head, still thank you for not quitting on this fic. <3

**From: Angel**

**\---Dean, we need to talk.---**

That was the text that Dean woke up to the very next morning. He stared at it for a few moments, then took a deep breath, letting it sink in that today was probably going to be the worst day of his life. Again.

When he got to lunch that day, he made eye contact with Cas, and discreetly nodded to him to signal that they would meet in bathroom. He excused himself from the table and left, knowing that Cas would be following him shortly.

He had leaned himself against the wall once he was inside the bathroom, taking deep breaths to prepare himself for the dreaded talk that was only a few moments away.

Not thirty seconds later, there was a slam against the door, accompanied by a pained yelp. The door swung open, and a dirty blond boy stumbled through the door, being jeered at and pushed through by Zach, who Dean just barely avoided being spotted by.

“Go get yourself cleaned up, faggot,” he heard Michael’s voice from around the door.

As soon as the door closed, Dean leapt forward to grab the boy.

“Hey hey hey, are you alright?” he asked, holding onto him by the elbows. The boy met his eyes and he suddenly recognized him through the bloody nose as Samandriel.

“Shit,” he whispered, “Alfie, what happened?” he asked, guiding him to the sink.

“Michael and Zach," Alfie sniffed, grabbing a paper towel to wash the blood off his face. "Apparently I've done something to offend them."

Dean stood back and ran a hand over his face. “Shit… shit, I’m sorry…”

Alfie threw the sopping paper towel he was holding into the trash can. “I don’t understand… why can’t they just leave us alone?”

Before Dean could respond, Cas came through the door, and was visibly taken aback by what he saw. He looked like he was just about to back out of the bathroom when Dean reached forward and took his hand, keeping him there.

“Cas,” he said, drawing him back next to the sink. He all of a sudden saw the look of terror on Alfie’s face, and stood next to Cas, lacing their fingers together.

“Wha- what?!” Alfie backed away from the both of them, obviously afraid of what the two of them might do to him. “Dean, I- I thought-”

Dean stepped forward again. "Alfie, Alfie calm down."

"N-no! Why're you-"

"Dammit Alfie, would you just shut up for five seconds and let me explain!" Alfie clamped his mouth shut, but mostly out of fear. Dean took a breath. "Cas, this is Alfie. Alfie, you know Cas."

Cas cut the introduction short. "I know who he is," he said, sounding slightly irritated. Dean looked over at Cas for an explanation, but only saw a smaller degree of the shock that was on Alfie's face. "Hello, Samandriel."

"Castiel..." Alfie only slightly acknowledged him before turning away to continue cleaning himself up.

Dean contemplated for a moment. "Cas, a moment please," he said and guided Cas out of the bathroom by the arm. By a stroke of luck, there was no one else around anymore. "You mind explaining what just happened there?" Dean pressed.

Cas was still scowling in the direction of the bathroom. "Not now," he said, his voice matching the hardness in his eyes.

"Dammit Cas, why the hell not?!" Dean snapped, shifting to hold his gaze. Contrary to the reaction he thought he would get, Cas only shifted his glare to Dean. He wouldn't admit it, and he hoped it didn't show, but it kind of scared the crap out of him.

"Dean, I said no!" Cas barked, holding the intensity in his eyes. Dean was taken aback by the sharp tone in his voice. He decided it might be best to try a softer approach to get through to him.

"Cas," he said softly, gently placing his hands just above his boyfriend's elbows, only to have them swatted away, Cas looking down and away from him. "Angel, what's wrong?" Dean asked. He could hear his own voice wavering.

"I don't want to talk about it," Cas muttered. "What I _did_ come here to tell you, though..."

 _'No. Here it comes. Please God, no...'_ Dean closed his eyes and took a shaky breath.

"...Is that we need to be more careful."

Dean slumped in relief. "Yeah," he huffed, "Yeah I agree."

"Crowley saw us."

"Ellen saw us."

They blurted the news in unison.

"WHAT?!"

"Harvelle saw us?!"

"When we kissed outside her door. I- I thought she couldn't see us! I mean I talked to her and she said she won't tell Jo, but I mean- _Crowley_?! How the hell did he see us?" Dean sputtered.

Cas sighed, and told him the story.

***

_Cas ran his hands through his hair after falling onto his bed. Today had been way too stressful for his taste, the only upside being that he got to see Dean, despite the fact that it was to get him out of his locker. He was ready to just forget all of his obligations and go the fuck to sleep; so he shut his eyes._

_His phone chimed. "Are you fucking kidding me..." He rolled over to grab his phone off his nightstand._

_**From: Meg** _

_**\---heyyy---**_

_**To: Meg** _

_**\---What do you want? I'm not in the mood for this.---** _

_**From: Meg** _

_**\---oh but uv got 2 b a little bit curious---** _

_Cas sighed._

_**To: Meg** _

_**\---Fine. What is it.---**_

_**From: Meg** _

_**\---ur buddy fergus let me in on a little something. ive gotta say ur stndrds hav gotten RLLY low---** _

_Not this shit again._

_**From: Meg** _

_**\---looks like gay dreams do cum tru after all---** _

_With just enough time to read the text, a picture came through. It took him a second to realize what it was: Him. Holding hands with Dean in the hallway. He sat stunned, his mouth hanging open._

_They were in deep shit._

*******

"FUCK!" Dean banged his fist against the wall before Cas even finished the story. Cas simply watched him, waiting for him to calm down. Dean sighed, leaning against the wall and closing his eyes, knowing that Cas wouldn't say a word until he calmed down. "So what did you do?"

Cas hesitated, ashamed. "It seems... blackmail has become much more prominent in my life than I had ever intended. On the upside, however, it is much more effective than I had previously thought." Cas shrugged to himself at the last statement, which caught Dean slightly off guard.

"Wait, Cas... What did you _do_?" Dean pressed.

Cas rolled his eyes. "I reminded her of a few images she sent me while we were dating that I fortunately had the sense to keep."

Dean stood with his mouth hanging open. He couldn't possibly mean what he thought he meant. "You mean..." he sputtered, "you mean you... have her..."

"I have her nudes, yes." Cas stated simply, unblinking.

Dean stared for a second in silence before running a hand over his face. He knew there were other problems at hand, but that didn't mean he wouldn't be up all night thinking about how his boyfriend still just happens to have his ex-girlfriend's nudes. He decided not to say anything on the subject.

"I've got Crowley taken care of too. I told Meg that if anything got out from whatever source, it would be on her. She has dirt on Crowley as well, so she won't let him do anything without repercussions."

Dean took a moment to let it all sink in. They really were in deep shit.

After clearing things up with Cas, they checked their surroundings before sharing a goodbye kiss.

Dean moved through the rest of his day looking around at the people around him, wondering who knew what, and if they knew anything at all.

After school, while the ensemble girls were rehearsing the choreography for _I Feel Pretty_ , Dean pulled Alfie aside and demanded an explanation as to what the hell happened earlier that day.

"What's it to you?" Alfie challenged, about to walk away before Dean placed a hand on his shoulder.

"A lot. Now spill." Dean barked.

Alfie shook his head, his jaw clenched. "In middle school," he began, "I was always the quiet one who got picked on. I still am... But when Castiel came in, we were the same. I saw people treating him the same way they treated me- worse, even- and I didn't stand for it. Soon we became best friends and stuck up for each other when we could. We were all the other had.

“High school came soon, though, and things changed. On the very first day, just when I needed him the most, he turned on me. He went with his brother- I understood that much of it. Family is family and you stick together. But… then Michael came along and started picking on me.” Alfie looked down at his shoes, and when he looked back up at Dean, he could tell that he was holding back tears. “He said some nasty things, punched me in the gut. Castiel was right there… he didn’t even try to stand up for me. We haven't spoken since. Not until today."

Dean stood in shock. Everything was hitting him, one thing after the other in waves. This was not just an explanation for the cold looks earlier- this was everything. This was how he knew what it was like to be in a locker. This was why he changed his name. This was why Cas even looked at him in the first place, that first day that Gabriel tripped him three years ago.

"...Dean?" Alfie shook him out of the tailspin of epiphanies that he was heading into.

"Yeah, I'm good," Dean shook his head, rubbing his brow. This day was getting to be way too much for him. "Just... You won't tell anyone, will you? About me and him?"

Alfie seemed to be biting his cheek. "Fine," he said after an uncomfortable pause, "but for you. Not for him."


	14. Mistletoe Is Overrated

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so first of all I'd like to apologize for how long it's taken me to get this chapter up. I think you'll see why it took me so long though, because it is loooong. Also, for the past few weeks, (and I don't know how long this is going to last,) I have rarely been able to get onto a computer. So recently I've been able to type some things up using what little free time I have in the library and breaking the "only use school computers for school work" rule. It does help though that with recent social developments, I don't really have anywhere else to be in my free time anymore. 
> 
> Luckily, I'm on fall break as of now, and I will try to get AT LEAST one more chapter up by Monday, which shouldn't be too hard since I already have the first part of the next chapter written. The reason being for that, however, is that like I said this chapter is very, very long, at least in comparison with nearly everything else I've written. It's already long as it is now, but it was going to be longer until I decided ten minutes ago to split it into two chapters. So lucky you! You get more chapters! Also, this means that the next chapter after this will be taking place on Christmas as well, but you guys are smart and you'd (most likely) be able to guess that anyway.
> 
> So to wrap up this insanely long author's note for an equally insanely long chapter: Enjoy! :D

The semester continued to go on and on, and Dean and Cas carried on as they usually did. (Secret meetings and bullshit excuses to get away from their friends to go see each other.) However, as the weather began to freeze, so did the drama around them. Winter break finally came- further proof to Cas that God is real.

All was well in the Winchester house. Although Dean thought he had more or less outgrown Christmas, Sam and their mother had insisted on getting a tree and going the whole nine yards with decorating.

Dean awoke on Christmas morning with his brother shaking him awake like a kindergartner, demanding that he get up _now_. Dean flung his pillow at Sam, and groaned as he got up. Christmas or not, he was freaking tired. He had stayed up texting Cas all of last night.

In a sleepy haze, he slumped down the stairs and into the living room, following the sound of Sam’s feet pounding on the floor more so than any actually ability to see.

“Merry Christmas!” Mary said, not moving from her spot on the couch in front of the tree, clutching a seasonal mug in her hands.

“Merry Christmas,” Dean mumbled back less than enthusiastically.

“It’s already ten, just so you know. Bobby is going to be here in about an hour or two, and we’re not sure if Ellen and Jo are coming over, but so far it’s not looking so good. From what I understand Jo is sick?” Mary explained and took a sip of what Dean was only guessed was some sort of peppermint cocoa that she liked for some reason. “Also, there’s still a couple cinnamon rolls in the kitchen if you want some. Sam and I kind of scarfed them all already, so you pretty much slept through that battle.”

“Good to know,” Dean nodded to himself, and started towards the last two cold cinnamon rolls out on the counter. “Also yeah, Jo said last night that she’s sick, but she’ll try to make it.”

It was then that Dean noticed that unmistakable smell in the air around him. Cinnamon, yes, but any lingering scent from the cinnamon rolls would by this time be long gone. It had to be…

He looked over to the oven and saw inside it the two most glorious apple pies of his life so far, and immediately his mouth began to water.

“Mom… you can’t be serious…”

Mary nodded. “Mmhmm. Merry Christmas.”

“Is this… Is this my present?” Dean asked. Gift giving had somewhat died out in their family in recent years, but they always managed to find something small for each other.

“It sure is. Of course, they’re for all of us to share, but I figured it had been too long since we had any pie in this house, so...” she shrugged.

A giant grin broke onto Dean’s face, and he ran to his mom, who had just gotten off of the couch. He hugged her around the waist and thanked her.

“Yeah, yeah, I love you too. Now go get dressed before any company shows up,” she smiled and waved him upstairs.

After getting dressed and ready, Dean came back downstairs to find Sam huddled on the couch watching _A Christmas Story_ , with Sam sitting in Dean’s spot. Dean approached his brother and stood tall in front of him. “Scoot,” he commanded.

“You scoot,” Sam narrowed his eyes at him, and proceeded to attempt to lean around him. “You’re blocking the screen.”

“Yeah? Well maybe if you’d scoot, you could see it.”

Sam straightened up in his seat, throwing his shoulders back. “I’m comfy. And, I was here first!”

“I was _born_ first!” Dean snapped, determined to get his spot.

Just as Sam opened his mouth to sass him further, the doorbell rang. In what must have been a momentary lapse of judgement, Sam took off in the direction of the door, shouting, “I’ll get it!”

As soon as Sam had left the seat, Dean wasted no time in reclaiming it. “Haha!” he shouted after his brother in triumph.

“DAMMIT!” Sam cursed, realizing what he’d done.

Dean grinned. “Come on, Sammy. I thought you were smarter than that!”

“Jerk.”

“Bitch.”

He smiled smugly, getting settled on the couch as he heard the click of the door.

“Dean! Your boyfriend’s here!"

“Coming!” he called back, and rushed over to the door to find Cas, standing in a tan trenchcoat and thick blue scarf wrapped around his neck, and wearing a cheesy grin.

“Merry Christmas,” Cas smirked.

“Hey, Merry Christmas… c’mon in,” Dean’s face broke into a smile and he stepped aside to let him into the house.

After taking the invitation inside, Cas was quick to press a chaste kiss to Dean’s lips. At that moment, Mary came back downstairs, and stopped abruptly upon seeing Cas.

"Oh! Hi!" she greeted him rather nervously, mostly out of surprise.

"Hello, Mrs. Winchester! Merry Christmas!" Cas smiled politely at her.

"Merry Christmas! Cas, shouldn't you... be with your family right now?" Mary inquired.

"Oh, um, I will be with them for most of the day, they just let me come over here for a little bit. We're still waiting for my sister to show up anyway, so as far as they know I’m just visiting friends in the meantime.” Cas explained.

“Huh,” Mary nodded. “Well, just so you know, Bobby is going to be here in an hour," she said to Dean, and disappeared again.

After an awkward moment of watching her leave, they both turned to each other and smiled. Cas laced his cold fingers with Dean's, and brought them closer together.

“Jesus, Cas, you’re hands are _cold_ ,” Dean said.

Cas just laughed. “It’s Christmas and I was waiting outside your door for like five minutes. What did you expect?”

“Well I certainly didn’t expect to be holding hands with a freakin’ ice cube,” Dean countered. “Seriously, babe, you’re _freezing_. Come on,” he said and lead him into the kitchen.

“Oh, hey,” Cas stopped him before they got any further into the house, “I have a present for you,” he said, an eager smile breaking onto his face.

Dean smiled. “Do you now?”

“Yeah! You should come out to my car so I can give it to you. I would assume you would prefer to exchange gifts in private rather than in front of your family.”

“Sure, just lemme grab a jacket first,” Dean said and rushed up to his room. He quickly put on his boots and slipped on his jacket before opening up his sock drawer. Frantically, he dug around to find the rectangular black box containing Cas’s present. Once he had successfully fished it out, he opened it up to double check that the contents had not mysteriously disappeared. Taking a deep breath to calm his nerves, he gave it one last look before stuffing it in the pocket of his coat.

As he came downstairs again, he heard Sam chuckle.

“Yeah, he’s _definitely_ gonna like that,” Dean witnessed Sam say to Cas right after he followed the sound of their voices into the kitchen.

He shot them both a suspicious look before slinking across to the counter to grab one of the cookies out of the bounty that was lying on the counter, all while muttering “traitors…”

“Babe, you ready?” Cas asked, standing up from his seat next to Sam.

“Yeah,” Dean said and swallowed the cookie in his mouth. “Let’s go.”

They made their way outside, feeling the crunch of the snow beneath their boots, hand in hand until Cas had to dig in his pocket for the keys to unlock his car. He jammed the key into the lock of the pimpmobile, shaking it and trying to get it to open.

“Dude, I _still_ don’t understand your car,” Dean laughed with a shake of his head.

Cas shot him a glare. “Shut  up… My brother found it for me…” he muttered.

“Suuuuure,” Dean teased, earning him a snowball in the chest from Cas. “Hey!”

“Don’t make fun of my car!” Cas said, flinging another sloppy fistful of snow at Dean.

Dean ducked away, arming himself with his own handful of snow, which he formed into a ball as he ran to the other end of the driveway. He held it up and stuck his hand out to Cas in warning. “Do you want a war? Because once I throw this, that’s what’s gonna happen!” he said matter-of-factly, with an eyebrow raised.

Cas threw his arms out in welcome of the battle to come. “Fight me, assbutt!” he called back.

Dean shook his head. “You asked for it,” he responded before launching the snowball at him.

Cas let out a yelp and flinched when it hit him, laughing as he bent down to scoop up more snow. As he picked himself back up, Dean charged towards him, grabbing more “ammunition”. Cas ran away a few feet before turning around to retaliate. The snowball ended up hitting Dean square in the face.

“Oh shit,” Cas said, slinking towards him. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” Dean said, looking down innocently, and regained the grip on the snowball he was holding behind his back. “Yeah, I just-” With that, he wasted no time in getting his revenge and throwing the snowball in Cas’s face.

Cas flinched and laughed as he sprinted to a snow bank in the corner of the yard, with Dean of course following him.

Dean was lucky to catch up to him. He knew Cas was in Track at school, but this was just ridiculous. Once he had finally managed to catch him, he tackled him, landing them both in the giant pile of snow. Dean positioned himself where he was hovering above Cas with their noses touching.

“You are a _very_ fast runner, you know that?” Dean said, panting, while Cas seemed completely unphased.

“And _you_ need to go out for football next season,” Cas said, placing a hand on Dean’s chest and kissing him.

“Nah,” Dean said, breaking the kiss, “I think wrestling’s more my speed,” he joked and locked their lips together again.

After a moment of carrying on like this, they broke apart, staring into each other’s eyes like the absolute dorks they are, until Cas seemed to be hit with a realization. “Your present!” he thought aloud, suddenly remembering the entire reason they came out here in the first place.

Dean got up first then pulled Cas to his feet, and again they walked to the car. Cas unlocked it, giving Dean a suspicious look as he did so. Dean threw up his hands in mock innocence.

After the door was opened, Cas reached inside to grab a box wrapped in green paper with a sparking blue bow. Dean could tell from the shape of it that it was clearly a CD, except for it being slightly bulky, but what else could it be?

“Merry Christmas,” Cas said as he handed it over.

Dean took it and studied it for a second before ripping off the paper. Only one thing went through his mind. _‘What.’_

“I realize that you enjoy music from the 80’s, so I thought this would be applicable…” Cas said with a shy smile.

1989\. It was a Taylor Swift album.

Dean stared at it for a couple seconds, trying to decide how he felt about it. Everyone knew he had never been one to listen to Taylor Swift- hell, he’d even go as far as to tell his friends that he damn near hated the woman. However, it would be a straight up lie to say that there had never been a time when he had been alone in his room and he had tapped his toe to one of her songs that had come on the radio. No matter how he felt about the gift itself, this was more importantly about Cas. He had to love it either way.

“Thank you Cas. I love it,” he said, and tucked it into his jacket. “And, uh, I’ve got something for you too,” Dean pulled out the box and handed it over.

“Dean, you didn’t have to get me anything…” he said, studying the box.

“Yeah, well you didn’t have to get me anything either. I wanted to,” he responded.

Cas raised his eyebrows at him in a sort of question.

“Well go on, aren’tcha gonna open it?” Dean said, waving his hands in encouragement.

Cas took the top off of the unwrapped box, and his eyes lit up in an instant, in turn causing a huge grin to split onto Dean’s face. With frozen fingers, the pulled the silver chain from the box, at the end of which hung a miniscule silver angel wing with a halo on top of it.

“Dean, I-” Cas stuttered, before he found the small note that was still trapped inside:

_To my angel,_

_-D_

Without warning, Cas threw his arms around him.

“Woah, woah, hey,” Dean laughed nervously, hugging him back. “So you like it?”

Cas pulled away, still with the box in one hand that was draped on Dean’s shoulder, and the chain of the necklace was threaded between the fingers of his right hand, which moved to cup Dean’s face. “I love it!” he grinned, before kissing him.

All of a sudden, the front door opened and Sam poked his head out. “Guys!” he called, “Bobby’s almost here!” he said. Before Sam could even close the door, they spotted the junky old truck rolling down the road towards them.

“Go go go- inside-” Dean frantically grabbed Cas’s hand and tried to pull him into the house before Bobby saw them. The door slammed behind them and they paused to take a breath. “Guess you get to meet Bobby today,” Dean joked. They were able to take a few steps further into the house before there was a pounding on the door and their faces fell. Immediately Mary and Sam ran back into the front room, and Cas backed away from the door, unsure of whether or not he should hide somewhere.

“Should- should I-” Cas looked around for confirmation on what to do, mainly looking to Dean, who simply shrugged, not knowing himself.

“Oh, don’t be silly Cas,” said Mary, who definitely seemed much perkier after having had her morning coffee and getting herself ready for the day. She took him by the forearm and lead him closer to the door before opening it.

The greetings went by in a blur- lots of hugs and “how are you”s and “merry Christmas”s, until finally Bobby came to a stop and saw Cas.

“Who’s this?” Bobby asked without any hint of welcome in his voice.

Cas shrank back little by little, wringing his hands. “I’m, uh…”

Mary stepped forward and placed a hand on Cas’s shoulder. “Oh! This is Dean’s, uh, friend. Cas.”

Cas stood looking at Bobby with wide eyes.

“Oh, well uh… nice to meet you, Cas. Merry Christmas,” Bobby said, seeming to warm up to him slightly as they shook hands.

“Nice to meet you as well, I’ve heard a lot about you,” Cas said, smiling with a sudden burst of confidence.

“Only good I hope,” Bobby replied, laughing gruffly, relieving Cas of his nerves. “Watcha got there?” Bobby nodded at the silver chain that was still entwined in Cas’s fingers.

“Oh this? This is a, uh, a gift. From my parents,” he said before pocketing the necklace.

There was a moment of awkward silence, in which Sam looked wide eyed between everyone in the room, wondering why so much tension was there and why all the secrets.

Dean cleared his throat. “Well, I think I’m gonna go take my jacket off. Cas?”

“Ah,” Cas nodded, and followed Dean up the stairs to his room.

When they got up there, Dean took the CD out of his jacket and placed it on the stack by his bedside. They both shrugged off their coats, and Dean hung them both up in his closet as Cas took off his scarf. Just before Dean closed the closet door, however, Cas stopped him.

“Wait,” he said, and pulled the necklace out of his coat pocket. “I don’t want to lose it.”

“Well allow me, then,” Dean said. He took the necklace from Cas’s hands and stood behind him, fiddling with the clasp until he finally got it open. “Here,” he said as he looped it around Cas’s neck. Once it was secured, he stepped to face him, running his hands down Cas’s arms, pulling him close, their lips almost touching.

“Merry Christmas,” Dean whispered.

“Merry Christmas,” Cas replied before kissing him once more, with the ring of the doorbell in the background. Still holding each other close, they turned to look in the general direction of the front door, hearing familiar voices in the distance.

“Wait here,” Dean said, and snuck out to the hallway. He peered over the railing down to where the family gathered below. Joining them now were Ellen and Jo.

“Where’s Dean?” Jo asked after noticing his absence.

Sam, always thinking on his feet, jumped in. “He’s up in his room. Just hold on a sec, I’ll go up and tell him you’re here,” he said.

As quickly as he could manage, Dean slinked back to his room. After not even two steps inside, Sam rushed in, panting.

“Ellen and Jo are here,” he warned, fear making an appearance in his expressions. All three of their heads whipped to the direction of the stairs when they heard the sound of footsteps emanating from there.

Dean immediately looked to his closet, opened the door and wasted no time in shoving Cas inside, whispering “go go go!” as Sam disappeared. Jo popped in in an instant, the very same moment that Dean had shut the door of his closet, not noticing at first that she was there. Still not seeing her only four feet to his right, Dean took a deep breath, leaning on the closet door.

“Hey!” Jo chirped, and Dean jumped with a shout, in turn causing Jo to jump. “Jesus, Dean, it’s me!”

“Sorry,” Dean responded, “you scared me…”

“Obviously,” she said. “Since when do I scare you?”

Dean snorted. “Have you seen yourself? You’re just like your mom- terrifying.”

“Hey! I resent that!” she said, playfully slapping him on the shoulder. “So whatcha doing?”

Dean paused, looking blankly at her. “Nothin’,” he said.

“Really? Because it sounded like you were just talking to someone.” She took a seat on his bed. “Sounded like you were saying ‘Go’ or something…”

“Oh that?” Dean’s eyes widened. _‘Come on, Dean, think! You bullshit essays all the time for her mother, you can do it for her!’_ “I was just, uh… singing?”

Jo raised her eyebrows at him. “Singing?”

“Yeah.”

“Psh, since when do you sing?” Jo laughed.

_‘Since I was eight years old and Mom dragged me to see Hairspray when it came through town, with Aaron Tveit and his Godiva chocolate voice…’_

“What? A guy can’t just hum to himself once in awhile? Please…” Dean defended. He stopped short when he saw the Taylor Swift album that he had just put on top of the stack. He launched himself across the room and swiped it off the tower of CDs and held it behind his back before she even knew what had happened.

Jo gave him a suspicious look. “What was that…”

“Oh, hehe, spider…” he laughed it off and sat next to her on his bed, dropping the CD behind his pillow when she wasn’t looking.

Jo continued to give him “the look”.

Meanwhile, Cas was maintaining his sense of calm surprisingly well, trapped inside the nearly pitch black closet, except for the sliver of light creeping through underneath the door. He couldn’t help but laugh to himself a little, looking around as the thought came into his head: _‘Well_ this _feels very familiar…’_

“Anyway, Merry Christmas,” Jo said, nudging Dean with a timid smile.

“Merry Christmas to you too, Jo...” Dean said, rather taken aback by how friendly she was being in contrast to the past month and a half.

“And… I wanted to say… I’m sorry,” she said, looking down at her hands clasped in her lap. “I know I haven’t been the best friend lately, and it was wrong of me to treat you the way I’ve been ever since Halloween. I was being selfish, and I didn’t want you to be leaving us for some other group of friends. I mean I was scared, okay? You’re like my brother, Dean. You’re my best friend. I just- I get worried about you and I don’t want to lose you…”

A small smile crept its way onto Dean’s face, and he placed a hand over hers. “Hey,” he spoke softly, “you’re not gonna lose me, okay? We’re family- no matter how much of a pain in the ass we may be to each other.”

“Hey!” she punched him lightly in the shoulder. The two of them laughed, for a moment until Jo looked back up at him with the same apologetic smile that he was bearing. “So… apology accepted?”

“Apology accepted,” he confirmed. They shook hands and Jo visibly cheered up. That was when they heard a phone chime, both of them knowing that it wasn't their own. Dean’s face fell, right before a lightbulb switched on in his head. “That was me, hold on,” he said, and pulled his phone out of his pocket, hitting a button to make it look like he had just gotten a message.

“Ah, it was just Alfie- this kid in my US History class- he says ‘Merry Christmas!’... I’ve been getting texts all day, it’s kind of ridiculous… psh...” he pulled the lie out of his ass. “Lemme just respond to them- one sec…” he said, and took this opportunity to send a few instructional texts, typing insanely fast.

**To: Mom**

**\---call us down i need to sneak cas out---**

**To: Sammy**

**\---need u to help make a diversion for cas to get out. something loud so no one can hear him---**

“Kids, come down here so we can have pie!” Mary called.

_‘My mom is a saint…’_

**To: Angel**

**\---going downstairs now. send u a txt when coast is clear---**

**From: Sammy**

**\---how the hell am i supposed to do that?!---**

**To: Sammy**

**\---THINK OF SOMETHING---**

“Coming, Mom!” the brothers called back in unison, and the three of them raced each other to the kitchen, Dean nearly shoving Sam down the stairs.

As Mary served up the pie, people still seemed to be scattered all over the house, so there was still no way to tell whether or not Cas could leave yet. With another lightbulb moment, he stood up to make an announcement to the family.

“HEY EVERYONE!” he stood up on top of his chair to gain the attention of his scattered family. “Since it’s been so long since we have been treated to such entertainment, why doesn’t Sam show us a few of his greatly missed magic tricks, huh?” he suggested with a grin, enjoying the way that Sam’s face went completely pale.

Sam marched up to Dean and pulled him down off the chair. “Dean, no…” he glared at him, holding him by the shirt.

“Aw, c’mon Sammy,” he said, still holding his smug smile, yet still able to communicate his real intentions to Sam. “A little disappearing act never hurt anyone, right?” he said with a wink.

Sam paused before backing away from his brother, catching on. “I don’t know, Dean, it’s been like a year since I’ve done any magic tricks!”

“Ah, well we both know that’s not true,” Dean laughed. "You've gotta have  _something_ up your sleeve!"

Sam shrugged off the comment and agreed to put on a small magic show for the equally small family. “Fine,” he said, pushing past Dean to get his materials. “The things I do for you…”


	15. He Went To Jared

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Good news, everyone! It's 3 AM on Halloween, but thanks to my fucked up sleep schedule, I fulfilled my goal of at least two chapters posted this week. Yeah, I will admit this chapter is kind of short, and the next one will almost definitely be a sort of mini-chapter. I would also like to apologize for being a lazy author and not quite filling in a couple plot holes from the last chapter. Also I am fully aware that this particular chapter title is shit, but I literally could not think of anything else that wouldn't imply Wincest. So.... I'm sorry.

“Cas is back!” Gabriel shouted to the rest of the Novak family, and led him into the living room where his siblings were gathered.

Cas felt a chill when he laid eyes on Lucifer sitting in their father’s chair while he was temporarily out of the house.

Lucifer, however, gave him a small condescending smile in return. “Where you been, little brother?”

“Oh, just... out visiting friends…” he replied, shuffling his feet. It was then that he saw Hannah standing up across the room, with her welcome smile that Castiel had missed for months. “Hannah!” he lit up, running to throw his arms around her.

“Hello, Castiel!” she laughed, hugging him back.

“I missed you.”

“I missed you too… Merry Christmas, little brother.”

“Merry Christmas, Hannah,” Cas grinned, and they both took a seat on the couch, Cas taking the opportunity to steal Gabriel’s spot between Hannah and Lucifer as he wandered into the kitchen.

After a small moment of awkward silence, Lucifer reached over and lightly took the angel wing around Cas’s neck between his fingers. “Whatcha got there, Castiel?”

Cas’s heart started to pound. He pried the wing out of his brother’s fingers, and continued to clutch it with his own. “It was a present…”

“Oh? From who?” Hannah asked with a smile, sitting up in her seat.

“My… um… my girlfriend…” Cas mumbled.

“Oh yeah,” Gabriel twisted the cap of a two-liter of Pepsi in the other room, “Cas here has got some mystery girlfriend that he’s not telling any of us about. Not even Mom and Dad.”

Hannah scoffed at Gabriel’s interjection. “Hello, this is Castiel calling from under the bus…”

“So,” Lucifer said in a low, cool voice, still holding his naturally predatory smirk, “who’s this girl?”

Cas’s eyes widened. “She’s um… she…”

“Ah, come on, Cas, you can tell us! We’re your family! You can’t tell us, who can you tell?” Gabriel pushed.

“Gabriel…” Hannah warned.

“Now wait just one diddly darn second,” Gabriel cut her off. “Let’s just start with the basics: What’s her name?”

Cas started to sink back into the couch. He looked to Hannah for defense.

“Gabriel, if he doesn’t want to share, he doesn’t have to,” Hannah jumped in.

“Let the boy speak, Hannah!” Gabriel replied, and leaned towards Cas to urge him on.

“You realize you can’t tell anyone at school about this, right?” Cas reminded him.

“Yeah, yeah, sure, of course. Now spill,” Gabriel waved it off.

Still holding the silver wing close to his heart, Cas looked down at the ground and lied. He hated lying. Sure, it had become somewhat routine by now with his friends and to an extent Gabriel, but to lie to the rest of his family felt much more wrong. He looked down at the engraving on the back of the pendant, wracking his brain for a female name that began with D. “Her name is… Her name is Daphne?” he mumbled.

A grin broke onto Gabriel’s face, and he patted Cas on the shoulder. “Alright! What’s she look like?”

Cas leaned forward to rest his head in his hands. “Blonde,” he spoke with a wistful tone, “but kind of dark blonde if you know what I mean. Beautiful green eyes, tall, freckles…” Cas couldn’t help the sigh that came out of him.

“Do she got the booty?” Gabriel snickered. In return, Lucifer punched him in the shoulder.

Castiel continued to tell his siblings about Dean/Daphne, with a few minor changes, like the interest in cars and the fact that s/he goes to their school. It turned out to be a rather taxing process to sort through all of Dean’s traits and decide which ones he would be able to tell without giving anything away or making anyone suspicious.

Hours later, however, he got a knock on his door right before going to bed.

“Hey,” Hannah said as she peeked her head through the door.

Cas immediately sat up and made space on the bed for her to sit. “Hello.”

“You looked upset earlier. I wanted to make sure you were okay.”

“I’m fine, Hannah. Thank you for your concern,” he sighed and laid back down on his bed, staying curled up to avoid pushing Hannah off.

“I just want you to know that whatever is going on, I am still your sister and you can tell me anything. You know that, right?”

Cas huffed and got up to close his bedroom door so that no one would hear their conversation. He sat back down cross-legged on the bed and somehow a pillow had found it’s way into his grasp as he began to tell her the truth.

He started off by wiping the slate clean of all the lies he had told earlier. “My girlfriend… the one I told you about earlier… she doesn’t exist. I made her up. Dean, however, does exist,” he began.

His sister listened intently as everything began to spill out of Castiel’s mind. Now that he had started talking about Dean, he didn’t seem to be able to stop. The stories about their first kiss and sitting on the roof and everything else seemed to simply pour out of him, and there was no stopping it. It was also apparent that the one thing that was eating at Cas’s subconscious about Dean was his eyes, and when he thought of him, that was all that he could really think about- how beautiful they were in absolutely every way- how Cas could just look in those green eyes and see everything that went through Dean’s mind. He could see galaxies in those eyes.

“I think… I think I’m in love with him,” Cas said with a slight tremor in his voice. He didn’t want to be in love- he had heard too many love stories that have utterly sucked and the protagonist ends up either heartbroken or dead. But oh, how good it felt at the same time to say that he was in love.

“And what exactly is the reason that you couldn’t tell me all of this before?” Hannah asked, a smile still on her face from listening to her brother’s revelation.

Cas looked at her like it was obvious. “I told you,” he said, “he’s not one of us. If anyone knew, I’d be cast out- again. Please, Hannah, promise me you won’t tell our brothers…”

Hannah sighed. “I promise.”

***

“Hey Sammy?” Dean knocked on his brother’s door late that night, with no answer. “Sammy, I know you’re still up, I can see the light under your door.”

He heard a huff from behind the door, followed by footsteps before the door opened to Sam’s iconic bitchface.

“Can I uh… Can I come in?”

Sam huffed again and stepped aside, closing the door behind Dean after letting him in.

“Listen Sam, I uh… I’m sorry about embarrassing you earlier. But hey, you gotta admit that you’ve got some pretty good tricks up your sleeve…” he laughed.

Sam failed at suppressing a small laugh.

“So are we good?”

“Yeah,” Sam smiled, “I guess so. Oh and I uh, I’ve got something for you, by the way…” Sam opened his nightstand and pulled out what Dean couldn’t describe as anything other than a gold amulet, though he couldn’t see exactly what it was. “Merry Christmas,” Sam said, and handed it over.

Dean studied it for a few seconds, trying to figure out what the hell this thing was actually supposed to look like, and where and why Sam got it.

“I know, it’s a bit weird, but… Bobby gave it to me earlier. He said he found it in his house a while back. It was apparently supposed to be a present for Dad before he died, but he never got the chance to give it to him. And I just thought… since you knew Dad a lot more than I did… you would want to have it.”

Dean couldn’t help but smile. “Thank you, Sammy,” he said, looking back from the amulet to his brother, “I love it.” With that, he slipped the necklace over his head, and knew that he wasn’t going to take it off any time soon.


	16. You Are In Love... With Taylor Swift

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay okay okay so first of all I'd like to say that I am really happy and really relieved that I'm finally getting another chapter up. It's been way too long, and it shouldn't be too long before the next update. I'm on two weeks of break from school as of now, so yay! I have slightly more time to do stuff. I'm sorry this is only a mini chapter, but I hope you like it. WARNING: maximum Taylor Swift references ahead. So if you're anti-Swift... I don't know what to tell you, friend. ANYWAY I hope you like it!!!

_“Walking through a crowd, the village is aglow_

_Kaleidoscope of loud heartbeats under coats_

_Everybody here wanted something more_

_Searching for a sound we hadn’t heard before”_

 

Dean froze as the music filled his head. It was only the first verse of the first song, but he was already shocked by how much he had to admit: _‘Well, shit. Maybe I do like this…’_

 

_“Everybody here was someone else before_

_And you can want who you want_

_Boys and boys and girls and girls”_

 

That was the point in the song when Dean let his head fall on top of his math textbook in the middle of class. He silently cursed her for making him feel things this early in the morning.

He made his way through the album little by little where he could throughout the day. Some songs he hated at first, but they ended up being bearable…

 

_“You got that James Dean daydream look in your eye_

_And I got that red lip classic thing that you like_

_And when we go crashing down, we come back every time_

_'Cause we never go out of style_

_We never go out of style”_

 

Dean only sort of rolled his eyes through the entire song. Maybe because he wasn’t a twenty-five year old female. Still he had to admit that while the lyrics were not so relatable to him, the sound of the song itself was not that bad.

Some ended up being disgustingly good….

 _‘Oh god, not this song again…’_ Dean thought out of habit when the familiar drumbeat of Shake It Off came through the speakers. However, when he pulled his iPod out of his pocket to skip it, the weirdest thing happened: he couldn’t bring himself to change the song. Maybe it was the catchy tune, maybe it was just Taylor’s voice. Or maybe it was because…

 

_“The haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate_

_And the players gonna play, play, play, play, play_

_Baby I’m just gonna shake, shake, shake, shake, shake_

_Shake it off_

_Shake it off”_ __

 

Dean was horrified by how much he liked it, but by the end of the first chorus, he had fully embraced it. Little did he know that it would soon enough become his personal anthem.

And some songs, much like Welcome to New York, hit him way too hard in the feels than he thought must be healthy…

He had just walked trudged over to the middle school through the snow to get Sammy, and they were on their way home. After a quick summary of both of their days, (Dean’s being inexplicably boring when the Taylor Swift aspect was omitted and Sam’s being as awkward as an average eighth-grader can get), conversation ran out and Dean decided to knock out what was nearly the last song on the deluxe album.

 

_“Morning, his place_

_Burnt toast, Sunday_

_You keep his shirt_

_He keeps his word_

_And for once you let go_

_Of your fears and your ghosts_

_One step, not much, but it said enough_

_You kissed on sidewalks_

_You fight and you talk_

_One night he wakes, strange look on his face_

_Pauses, then says, you're my best friend_

_And you knew what it was, he is in love”_

 

“Well damn…” Dean thought out loud. “Maybe I haven’t been giving this girl enough credit all my life.”

“Umm… Dean what are you talking about?” Sam looked up at his brother, puzzled.

“Oh, uh… just… Taylor Swift…” he explained awkwardly.

“Oh, okay,” Sam nodded. “I was wondering if you were ever gonna listen to that. You know, Cas was really nervous about whether or not you’d like it.”

“Huh…”

 

_“So it goes_

_You two are dancing in a snow globe, go round and round_

_And he keeps the picture of you in his office downtown_

_You understand now why they lost their minds and fought the wars_

_And why I've spent my whole life try to put it into words_

_'Cause you can hear in the silence_

_You can feel it on the way home_

_You can see it with the lights out_

_You are in love, true love_

_You're in love”_

 

Those specific lyrics continued to swim through Dean’s head as he went to bed that night. It hit him that, maybe it was cliche, but he was in love.

And it scared the shit out of him.


	17. Baby

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Brother feels.

January 24th crept up on the Winchester family. Dean had just woken up that Saturday morning against his will, woken by the sound of an engine rumbling outside and coming to a stop. He heard a hushed commotion from downstairs, like someone being welcomed inside the house. He decided to ignore it and go back to sleep.

Hours later, Dean was roused again, this time from the pounding of what was surely Sam’s footsteps running up the stairs. He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes, oblivious of the date or it’s importance at whatever time this was in the day. He checked the clock and saw that it was nearly noon. How late did he stay up last night?

“BA NA NA NA NOW NAOW YOU SAY IT’S YOUR BIRTHDAY!” Sam burst into Dean’s room, shouting the same Beatles song that he sang all day on Dean’s birthday _every single year_.

“Sam, if you want me to have a happy birthday, let me FUCKING SLEEP!” Dean groaned, making himself cocoon with the blankets and pulling them over his head while Sam continued the torture.

“NERR NERR NERR NERR NEOW NEOWWW THEY SAY IT’S YOUR BIRTHDAY!” Sam leapt onto Dean’s bed and began jumping in the most annoying fashion he could. He jumped as high as possible and landed himself with one foot on each side of the blanket-wrapped Dean, feet around his hips. Sam bent down to shout in his big brother’s face. “NAIR NAIR NAIR NAIR NAIR NAIR HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO Y-”

While Sam was busy screaming guitar noises in his face, Dean quickly sat up. Before Sam knew what hit him, Dean used one hand to pull on Sam’s foot and the other to push back on his torso, sending him flopping down onto his back. Dean climbed on top of his brother and pinned him down, though he was still putting up a fight. Sam managed to get in a punch before Dean had control of both his brother’s hands.

“Alright, fine, I give,” Sam abandoned his struggle.

Dean let up and laughed. “Man you are way out of practice,” he teased.

“Yeah, whatever,” Sam rolled his eyes. “Anyway, I was sent up here to wake you up. Mom and Bobby say you need to get dressed and get downstairs.”

“Wait, Bobby’s here?” Dean confirmed. He was perking up already.

“Yeah, now get downstairs while we’re young.” Sam sassed and bolted back downstairs.

Dean took a shower and got himself dressed and ready as fast as he could, all the while wondering why his family was making such a huge fuss about his birthday this year. Bobby usually came over, but never this early and no one ever made him get up against his will on his birthday whenever it came on a weekend.

He ran downstairs to see them all gathered there, his mom clutching a camera and making small talk with Bobby.

“Happy Birthday!” Mary shot up and hugged him upon entrance.

“Happy Birthday, son,” Bobby smiled, standing in the corner.

“Thanks guys,” he patted his mom on the back before pulling out of the hug. “I gotta ask, though, what’s all the fuss about?”

“Your present’s outside,” Sam blurted, unable to contain his excitement.

“Sam!” Mary turned to him, hoping he wouldn’t ruin the surprise completely.

“Really?” Dean raised his eyebrows. Maybe this was more important than he thought. “Seriously, guys, what’s so big that you can’t take it inside?” He began walking towards the door, and the rest followed him.

Dean opened the front door and stepped outside. It took him a moment to process what was in front of him.

A car with a canvas completely covering it stood in the driveway.

“What the…” his mouth hung open as he approached it carefully. This couldn’t possibly be what he thought it was. It couldn’t be. He grabbed a corner of the heavy sheet at the front of the car, and yanked it halfway off.

 _‘No. Fucking. Way.’_ he thought as the gleaming black hood of the car caught his eye. He heaved the canvas back all the way, and there she was.

His father’s black 1967 Chevy Impala was parked proudly in his driveway, in all her glory. She shined in the sun, with the snow equally glimmering around her as the perfect backdrop.

Dean turned back to Bobby. “You can’t be serious…” he asked, stunned.

Bobby tossed him the keys. “She’s all yours, kid. Take good care of her.”

Dean caught the keys as they flew threw the air. “I will,” he promised. He ran around to the driver’s side of the car and unlocked the door. He opened the door, took a deep breath, and sat down in the driver’s seat. He caressed the steering wheel and dashboard, admiring her. “Oh, Baby…” he muttered under his breath. He looked over to the passenger side and saw his and Sam’s initials still carved into the dash, and felt suddenly at home in the car again, disbelieving that this was actually _his_ now. He inserted the key into the ignition and twisted. The Impala roared to life, and Dean nearly cried. Leaving the car running, he quickly got out and ran up to Mary.

“Can I drive for a bit? Can I?” Dean begged like a six year old would for candy.

Mary smiled, happy to see him so excited. Yet she was still reasonably scared about her teenage son on the road in such a fast car. Despite her caution, she knew she had to let him go some time. “Okay,” she conceded.

“Yes!” Dean pumped a fist into the air. He ran to his brother next. “Sam, you wanna come with?”

“Yeah!” Sam lit up and ran to sit shotgun before their mom could even get a word in.

“No! No! Sam get back here!” Mary yelled after her youngest son, but it was too late. Sam didn’t seem to hear her, or chose to simply ignore her, and hopped in the car with Dean. While Dean has had his license long enough for Sam to ride with him legally, she still knew the dangers of being a new driver, and being this excited about having a car certainly wouldn’t help him keep his head on the road. She went to knock on the passenger side window to get Sam out, but Dean had already started backing out of the driveway. “Dammit!” she cursed under her breath as they pulled away, running her hands through her hair.

“They’ll be fine, Mary,” Bobby comforted her.

“But what if they’re not?!” she snapped, and sat down on the porch, defeated.

“They will be,” Bobby reassured her. “I know you’re scared that something’ll happen to ‘em, but Dean’s a smart kid. He knows what he’s doing.” He sat down next to her and began to rub her back in comforting circles.

“I know _he_ does. He’s so much smarter than he even gives himself credit for…” Mary wiped a tear out of her eyes. “I’m just worried that someone else _won’t_ know what they’re doing. What if-” she began to cry, “what if some asshole just comes along and plows right through him? Like they did with- with _him?!”_ She buried her face in her arms, now curled up in a ball.

Bobby wrapped an arm around her, at a loss for ways to comfort her at this stage. She had a point; Dean might know what he was doing, but not everyone on the road could be given that much credit. That, and the fact that he was still a teenage driver, meaning just enough experience to get his license and nothing more. Still, their luck as a family had to be pretty unfortunate for an accident like that to happen twice.

***

“Alright, Sam, where should we go?” Dean asked his brother as they cruised down an open road.

“I don’t know, dude! You’re the driver!” Sam cracked, equally excited to be sitting in the car at all. “Hey, by the way, my present’s already in here. Turn on the music.”

“Can’t you do it?” Dean asked, not taking his eyes off the road. “I’m driving, here.”

Sam huffed. “Pull over, then. I want you to do it. It’s your car, anyway.”

Dean gave him a suspicious glance before pulling the car over to the side of the road. He narrowed his eyes at his brother once again before reaching for the button to turn on the tape player, mumbling: “This better not be another-”

It was. Dean threw a death glare at Sam, who was holding his sides and cackling.

 

_“We’re no strangers to love_

_You know the rules and so do I”_

 

Dean took a deep breath, clenching his fists. “You… little-”

“-Yeah, yeah, I’m a little bitch, I know,” Sam laughed, wiping a tear away. “Oh, come on, I got you good, you gotta admit it.”

Dean tried to keep glaring at his brother, but soon a grin broke through and he started cracking up along with him.

“No but seriously, my present’s in the glove box,” Sam said, once they had both gotten a hold of themselves.

“Okay,” Dean stopped the music, popped the glove box open and pulled out the poorly wrapped package sitting inside. “You want me to open it now?” he held it up.

“If you want,” Sam shrugged.

“Sweet,” Dean tore into the paper, unveiling a brand new box of condoms. “I don’t know what you’re trying to say, but _shut the fuck up,_ ” Dean tossed the box at Sam, rolling his eyes and trying to hold back a laugh.

Sam caught the box and threw it back at him. “Hey! Next time Cas comes over, at least you won’t freakin’ catch anything. I saw you guys making out last time he came over. You guys are _nasty…_ ”

“Shut up, we are not. And what are you implying? You saying Cas has something I don’t know about?” he deflected the conversation to put Sam on the defensive.

“What? No! I’m not saying anything like that! And hey don’t change the subject! I mean, would you want to see me and Jess eating each other’s faces?”

“Ew! Jesus fuckin’- Sam! Oh, god, ew!” Dean yelled and rubbed his eyes, trying to get the image out of his mind of his little brother doing… “things” with anyone. He was thinking he might need bleach to get rid of that mental picture.

“See?” Sam nodded, pleased himself.

“Ugh, this conversation is over…” Dean declared, restarting the car before he paused, picking the box back up. “How’d you even buy these, anyway? You’re like, twelve.” He inspected the sealed box.

“I didn’t. Stole ‘em,” he said nonchalantly.

Dean gaped at him. Those were words he never expected to hear coming out of Sam’s mouth. “Are you freaking kidding me? Sam!”

“What? Not from a store or anything, I got them from Kevin. I mean, _obviously_ he’s not using those any time soon…”

Dean knew it was wrong, but he burst out laughing.

Sam started giggling along with him. “Poor guy must think he’s gonna get his hand pregnant or something!”

The brothers were both in stitches. As soon as Dean regained his composure, he turned the music back on, and continued driving down the empty road, no clue where they were going or when they’d be heading back.


	18. Poise and Rationality

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dean being a theatre nerd, Cas being emo, and Sam being right.

“You’re not thinking I’m someone else?”

“I know you are not.”

“Or that we have met before?”

“I know we have not.”

“I felt- I knew something-never-before was going to happen- had to happen. But this is so much more.”

“Oh, Tony!” Sam flopped onto his side on Dean's bed, striking a melodramatic pose, and raising his voice a good two octaves. “You are the most handsome boy I’ve ever met in the whole world! I want to kiss your face and I love you even though we just met and you’re going to kill my brother later!”

“Sam, come on!” Dean picked up his script off the floor after Sam had dropped it. “Can you please take this seriously for five minutes?”

“I will as soon as you will! What the hell kind of acting was that? Seriously dude, you’ve got no emotion! Where’s the passion? The romance? I know you’ve got it locked up in there somewhere!”

“Yeah, well it’s kind of hard with _Lisa_ as my scene partner…” Dean rolled his eyes

“What’s wrong with Lisa? I thought you liked her for a while, didn’t you?”

“Yeah, I mean, she’s pretty and all-”

“Which makes your job easier, doesn’t it?” Sam cut in.

Dean sighed. “I guess, but that’s not the point. The point is, I feel like I’m doing the scene completely one-sided, and what I really need right now is for you to help me with my freaking lines. I’ve got most of them memorized, but I was supposed to be off-book three weeks ago. The show is in a couple months, and I’ve still got dances to learn, not to mention the singing and costumes and all that shit…” Dean leaned against the windowsill, looking out at the street below.

“Why don’t you get your friends to help you with this? Oh, that’s right. _You haven’t told them yet._ ” Sam glared at him.

“Hey!” Dean snapped. “I’ve got no choice, alright? You know what they’re like, Sam. They’d never let me live it down if they knew I liked this kind of stuff.”

Sam huffed, inexplicably done with Deans bullshit. “You know, for someone who can’t get into character, you’re a lot like Tony, you know that?”

Dean paused. “What do you mean?”

Sam threw his hands up. “You’re practically living West Side Story! Jesus, Dean, how could you not see that?”

 _‘Oh dear God, he’s right…’_ Dean felt like he was going to be sick. How _could_ he not see that? The Nerd Herd was the Jets, the God Squad the Sharks, and he and Cas were gay versions of Tony and Maria. He had to be careful, otherwise it could only be a matter of time before someone took the place of Riff and got killed by Gabriel, and ultimately leading to the death of Tony. But this was just typical high school drama, not Heathers, right? Teen angst bullshit doesn’t have a body count in real life, _right_?

“Dean, chill out. I can see the stress on your face right now. You’re not gonna die,” Sam said plainly, snapping Dean out of his internal monologue. “Hey,” Sam all of a sudden bolted upright. “That’s not such a bad idea!”

Dean’s eyes widened. “ _Excuse me?”_

“No, no, I don’t mean dying, it’s just… Cas is your Maria in real life, right? So, just think of him! Or just have him come over to help you with your lines!” Sam rushed.

“Huh…” Dean nodded. “That _isn’t_ a bad idea…”

***

“Alright, since you’ve got him to run your lines with, and I’ve got nothin’ else to do, I’m walking over to Kevin’s pretty soon. Can you let Mom know when she comes home?” Sam shoved his phone in his pocket and ran downstairs.

“Sure, see you,” Dean called to his brother and turned back to Cas, who was sitting eagerly on Dean’s bed, script in hand. “Now, where were we,” Dean sat down next to Cas, leaving the door open, thinking Sam was already out of the house.

“Quiet!” Cas read from the script.

“Come down,” Dean leaned closer to Cas, attempting to kiss him.

“No,” Cas held the script in front of his mouth and leaned backwards.

“Maria…” Dean placed a hand on Cas’s thigh, once again trying to catch his lips.

“Please, if Bernardo-” Abruptly, Cas stood up on the bed, placing his free hand on his hip.

“He’s at the dance. Come down.” Dean looked up at Cas from right in front of his feet, running a hand up his leg, causing Cas to nearly crack.

“He will soon bring Anita home,” Cas tapped Dean on the head with the script, playfully scolding him.

Dean dramatically dropped to the floor, on his knees. “Just for a minute,” he exaggerated the line as much as humanly possible.

“A minute is not long enough,” Cas clutched his heart, reaching down towards him.

“For an hour, then!” Dean got back on his feet, arms outstretched.

Cas turned away dramatically, the hand holding the script coming up to meet his forehead. “I cannot,” he fell backwards, straight onto Dean’s bed.

Dean crawled onto the bed and hovered over Cas. “Forever,” he dropped the character and finally got a taste of Cas’s lips. He moved from his lips to sucking a mark into the skin over his collarbone, at the same time moving a hand to grab Cas’s waist.

Cas leaned into the touch, a grin spreading on his face. He reached down to run a hand over Dean’s ass, when…

“Hey Dean, have you seen my- OH GOD!”

Dean whipped around, pulling off of Cas to see his little brother standing in his doorway, covering his eyes and trying not to throw up.

Dean chuckled nervously. “Sorry you had to see that, Sammy.”

“Oh, you’re _sorry_ ?” Sam shrieked. “I am _scarred for life,_ Dean!”

“Aw, well that’s a shame…” Dean laughed to himself and looked over at Cas, who was simply sitting there wondering what to do.

“Haven’t you people ever heard of _closing the goddamn door_?!” Sam exploded, still refusing to look at either of them.

That was when Cas started trying desperately to hold in his giggles.

“Care to share with the class?” Dean prompted.

Cas was struggling to get his words out without bursting into fits of laughter. “Now, calm down. It’s much better to face these kinds of things with a sense of poise and rationality…” Once he got it out of his system, he broke and doubled over laughing.

Both the Winchesters gave him curious looks, completely lost at what was so funny. They watched Cas laugh, occasionally throwing each other questioning glances, until Sam broke the silence.

“Alright, well, I’m going to Kevin’s. Bye,” he rolled his eyes and walked away, actually leaving the house this time.

The two waited for an awkward thirty seconds to hear the front door close behind Sam before turning back to each other and laughing hysterically.

Dean didn’t get his lines memorized that day.


	19. Like A Madonna Song

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SO I went back and edited this chapter a couple years after posting this and I'm taking out the smut scene from the original that I wrote when I was 16 because.... the characters are also 16. So this the abridged version. All you gotta know is they banged. Oops.

Spring Break that year was one that neither Castiel nor Dean would ever forget. That year, the Novak parents took a trip out of town, leaving Gabriel in charge of the house.

“Wait, you’re seriously leaving me alone for the night?” Cas cocked his head to the side as his brother grabbed his car keys and a hoodie in the late afternoon about halfway through the week.

“You’re nearly seventeen, Cas. You’re a big kid now, I know you’re not gonna burn the house down or anything,” Gabriel put on his hoodie.

“You’re not worried about me throwing any big parties or anything?”

“Please,” he snorted, “If anyone is reliable in this family, it’s you. Plus, there’s no way you’re throwing a party without me hearing about it,” he held up a finger in warning.

“Of course,” Cas rolled his eyes. “Where are you going, again?”

“Meg’s, house. Her parents aren’t home, so you know what that means,” Gabriel said with a wink. “See you tomorrow, Cas. Don’t burn the place down.” With that, he left the youngest Novak completely alone for the night… or so he thought.

**To: Dean**

**\---Hey. I’m alone for the night. Do you want to come over?---**

**From: Dean**

**\---fuck yeah, babe. ;) when do u want me to come?---**

**To: Dean**

**\---Now is fine.---**

He gave Dean his address, and about fifteen minutes later, he heard the roar of an engine approaching. Cas ran outside to meet him, not even bothering with shoes. Dean stepped out and in front of the black muscle car parked in front of Cas’s house.

“Hey,” Cas ran up to him and tucked his hands under Dean’s leather jacket, smirking as his boyfriend pulled him into a firm kiss.

“Hey,” Dean muttered and cocked an eyebrow up between kisses.

“So,” Cas broke away from his kiss yet again, and turned to look at the car, “this is the famous Impala…”

“You like her?” Dean asked proudly, wrapping an arm around Cas’s shoulders.

“Mhmm,” he hummed, “it suits you.”

“Didn’t I tell you she was sexy?”

“Careful, Winchester,” Cas pushed him away lightheartedly and headed back inside the house. “You keep talking like that, I might have reason to think you’re gonna dump me for a car,” he teased.

“Hey hey hey, Cas,” Dean ran up the driveway, frantically trying to catch up with him. He stood directly between Cas and the open front door. “That car may be my baby, and I’ll take care of her until the day I die, but she does not even fucking come close to you, alright?”

“I know,” Cas smiled at how far his teasing went over Dean’s head. He stepped straight past Dean and into the house, whirling around to hang on arm over Dean’s shoulder, and the other hand moving up to hold the back of his head to pull him in for another kiss. “Come on,” he took Dean’s hand and lead him inside.

Dean whistled at his first look at the interior of Cas’s house. “Nice place you got here.”

“Thank you.”

“Seriously, how does anyone afford to live like this?”

Cas gave a small laugh, walking into the kitchen. “You forget that my family is rather affluent. How do you think Gabriel and I got so popular?”

“Oh _that’s_ why? I thought it was because of your charming good looks,” Dean answered from the living room.

“Do you want anything to drink?” Cas offered, holding up a glass he had just pulled from the cabinet. Dean shook his head, and Cas put the glass back in the cabinet, returning to the topic at hand. “I do believe that both looks and money played a role in how my brother reached his status here, but he’s the only reason I’m in the position I’m now. God knows I have no other reason to be around those people…”

“So why do you hang out with them?” Dean met him in the kitchen, snaking an arm around his waist from behind.

“You know why,” Cas turned around in Dean’s arms and rested his head against his chest. He would be perfectly happy to stay just like that for hours, feeling Dean against him, breathing him in.

“Is it because of middle school?” Dean asked out of the blue.

As much as Cas was enjoying the position they were in at the moment, he pulled away. “How did you…”

“Alfie told me that you two were friends in middle school, so I just sort of assumed…”

“Oh,” Cas muttered. “I’m assuming he told you a few other things about me as well.”

“Well, he didn’t exactly speak highly of you, but no, he didn’t tell me anything other than what happened between you two,” Dean clarified.

Cas slumped in relief, and hoped that it didn’t show too much. Though he knew there was no danger of Dean telling anyone else, he didn’t want Dean to know just how much of a social lowlife he used to be. He quickly changed the subject.

“Anyway, what do you want to do?”

Dean pondered the question for a moment before his mouth quirked up into a sly smile. “Can I see your room?”

***

“Holy shit, dude,” Dean gaped at Cas’s bedroom. While Cas had moved on to admiring the colors of the slowly approaching sunset, Dean was ogling at the neatness of the room, and the collection of model fighter jets sitting on multiple shelves and hanging above their heads. “Did you make all these?” Dean asked, completely in awe.

“Almost, except for this one,” Cas picked up a model of a P-63 Kingcobra off his nightstand.

“Jesus, Cas, this is incredible…”

“Thanks,” he smiled. As soon as he set the plane down, he seized a cassette tape out from behind his clock as soon as he saw it lying there, collecting dust. “Shit,” he cursed, examining it.

“What is it?” Dean peered at the tape.

“Dean, I am so sorry, I completely forgot about this, I am so, so sorry,” Cas apologized frantically.

“Cas, it’s okay, just… what _is_ it?”

“Your birthday present,” Cas sighed. “I tucked it away so no one would walk in here and see it on accident, but I ended up forgetting about it the last time you had me over.”

Dean lit up as Cas handed the tape over. “You seriously made me a mixtape?” Dean sat down on Cas’s bed, looking it over. “Awesome Mix 3?” Dean had apparently discovered the title Cas had put on it.

Cas sat down next to Dean on the bed, staring down at his laced fingers. “I figured,” he began shyly, “it would be fitting, since it’s a reference to Guardians of the Galaxy, which you could technically count as our first date.”

“What did I ever do to deserve you?” Dean said quietly, switching his attention from the tape to Cas.

Cas flushed, and continued in his explanation of the tape. “It’s mostly songs that remind me of you, although there are a few on there that I added simply for the fact that I enjoy them and I felt that you might as well.”

Dean continued to gaze at Cas. “Seriously, what did I do to deserve you?”

Cas turned to meet his impossibly green eyes, which made him melt, as usual. “Who says you had to do anything?”

“Life says. I’m serious, Cas. You are completely and totally out of my league, in every sense of the phrase,” Dean tucked the tape into his jacket pocket, not taking his eyes off of him.

Cas could think of no other response than to lean in and capture Dean’s lips with his own. “Just shut up,” he mumbled, managing to get another kiss in while slipping Dean out of his jacket, before Dean broke away and stood up.

“Cas, no. I’m just- I’m _perplexed_ . Okay? I mean, you’re cool and- and good looking and smart and apparently now you’re fucking talented as hell too,” Dean picked up the F-22 Raptor off the desk directly next to him. “I mean, this takes _skill,_ dude. How did you even get into this?” Dean questioned in absolute sincerity.

“I told you, Dean, you know how much I love the sky. I’ve taken an interest in planes for years, now. I’ve wanted to become a pilot for quite some time,” he explained coolly.

Though Dean had always known about Cas’s desire to fly, he had apparently never considered it meaning that Cas wanted to fly jets. With all the time that they had been together, Cas was confused by how this could possibly be news to Dean. Had he seriously never told him?

“ _What?!_ ” Dean got the question out after a good moment or two of simply staring in confusion

“I’m going into the Navy after high school, Dean. I’m going to fly jets,” he repeated, remaining just as calm.

Dean, however, did not stay so calm.

“Oh, and you’re just telling me this _now_ ? No. _Fuck_ no, Cas. I’m not gonna let you go.” Dean crossed his arms over his chest.

“And why not?” Cas stood up, suddenly defensive.

“Because-” Dean stuttered, bordering on furious, “because it’s dangerous!”

“It’s perfectly safe, Dean!” he raised his voice.

“Oh, ha, yeah, sure it is,” Dean laughed, rolling his eyes.

“Dean, there’s more than enough training and safety precautions. You have no reason to be worried about me and frankly, this isn’t your decision anyway! It’s my choice!” Cas said sternly.

“You see this?” Dean held up the plane he had been holding onto this whole time. “This could be you. You’re out there, doing your thing, everything’s normal, and then BOOM!” He tipped the nose down on the model, acting out a crash. “Something goes wrong with the engine, and you crash to your death!”

“There are eject systems and parachutes, you know!”

At this, Dean seemed to only become more frustrated. “Have you ever seen Top Gun?!” he exploded.

“Dean-”

“No! I’m not gonna let you go, okay? I can’t! There is no way I’m gonna lose you in one of those flying metal death traps!”

“You’re not gonna lose me, Dean! I love you!" Cas blurted.

 

 

******CENSORED********

 

Cas melted in relief. He held Dean’s hands where they rested around his waist. “I love you, Dean Winchester,” he said while Dean continued to gently kiss the back of his neck over and over.

“I love you, Castiel,” Dean replied, and buried his face in the crook of Cas’s neck, holding him as though any moment he’d slip away. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So if anyone is wanting to hear the mixtape that Cas made.... I made an 8tracks playlist (/^u^)/ http://8tracks.com/thefiendishfangirl/cas-s-mix-for-dean


	20. Close Calls and Blue Balls

“Cas,” he heard a voice whispering softly in his ear, “sweetheart, wake up.”

Cas groaned as he was lightly shaken into consciousness. Through the sleepy haze he was in, he rolled over onto his back to see a pair of familiar green eyes staring expectantly down at him. “Good morning,” he mumbled with a grin spreading onto his face.

“Morning, Sleeping Beauty,” Dean replied and kissed him on the forehead. “How’d you sleep?” He sat up, and Cas followed him.

“Perfect,” Cas laced their fingers together, “you?”

“Perfect,” Dean repeated and brought their hands up to kiss Cas’s knuckles. “But I couldn’t stop thinking… For a virgin, you seemed awfully prepared…”

“Huh?” Cas tilted his head in confusion, until it registered that Dean was referring to the lube and condoms. “Oh, that. Meg.”

Dean narrowed his eyes. “Meg?”

“Yes,” Cas elaborated, “when we were dating, she was always trying to get me to… you know. I never wanted to.”

“Why not?” Dean asked. “Wouldn’t that have like, sealed your player status? Isn’t she pretty much the school slut?”

Cas sighed before continuing the story. “I couldn’t. Every time we got close, it just never seemed right. My heart was never in it...” Cas sighed.

They simply sat there for an awkward moment, until Dean cleared his throat.

“So,” Dean looked around, “I’m assuming you’ve got a shower in this place?”

 

 

*********CENSORED***********

 

“Hey-- just so I know when to scram-- when’s your brother gonna be home?” Dean asked as he pulled on his underwear.

It was then that they heard the front door open and shut, followed by: “Cas, I’m home!”

The two of them froze, staring at each other like deer stuck in headlights. “Now,” Cas squeaked out. There was only a small pause before they both began their mad scramble for a way out. Cas’s first move was to close the door as fast as possible, and with impeccable timing too, since that was also the exact moment they heard footsteps coming up the stairs.

“Cas,” Gabe knocked on the door, “you alive in there?”

_‘No I’m not alive, I’m dead, we’re dead, we’re doomed, toast, totally fucked…’_

Amid their confusion and silent desperation, Dean had propped the window open and already had one foot outside, prepared to jump down two stories half naked. Cas pulled him back and called through the door: “Yeah! I just- uh…” he trailed off in his panic.

“Can I come in?” Gabe asked from outside the door.

“Umm,” Cas panicked, “just a minute!”

“What do I do? What do I do?” Dean mouthed silently, gesturing to Cas frantically.

Cas’s only response was to mouth back: “I don’t know!” and search the room for a solution that he wasn’t likely to find. He saw Dean’s remaining clothes lying out in the open and gathered them up as fast as he could before throwing them under the bed. He silently instructed Dean to hide in plain sight under the covers. Dean obeyed, and Cas didn’t miss a beat in joining him right in the nick of time. He sat up directly next to the lump in the blankets that was Dean, and tried to calm down enough to not be suspicious. At the same time he was desperate to find a position that could hide his lingering erection.

“Are you decent yet?” Gabriel asked again.

 _‘Depends on what you would classify as decent,’_ Cas thought before confirming that he could come in.

Gabriel opened the door with a bang. “Good morning,” he sang, beginning his story of last night, initially oblivious to anything amiss with the picture in front of him. “Dude, Meg?” he whistled, “she is a fucking _animal,_ did you know that? Of course you didn’t. Man I cannot _believe_ that you didn’t hit that! I-” he froze, seeing the lump in the sheets.

Castiel could feel his heart thudding in his ears. _‘Please, God, let us pull this off…’_

“Oh…” Gabriel marveled quietly as his face molded into sly smile. “She sleeping?” he whispered, pointing to whom Cas knew he believed to be his imaginary girlfriend.

Cas nodded. “Shh…” he held up a finger to his lips.

“Right,” Gabe nodded, remaining silent for an approximate two seconds before all quietude was forgotten. “Are you fucking serious right now?” he laughed.

Cas sat straighter, without a clue what was happening right now.

“You totally nailed her! Didn’t you? Oh, _shit_ ! That’s _awesome_!” Gabriel lightly punched his little brother’s bare shoulder. He was bursting with pride. “So how was it?” he inquired with complete sincerity. “Was it good? Was she experienced? Any mouth action?” he fired question after question, leaving no room for Cas to answer him.

Castiel flushed bright red. It certainly didn’t help matters when Dean decided to move his hand to Cas’ dick, tormenting him in the worst possible way considering their situation. Cas shifted, casting a wary glance down at Dean.

“Feisty one, huh?” Gabe wiggled his eyebrows, and Cas buried his face in his hands. “Sorry,” he muttered.

“Gabriel could you please _go_?” Cas groaned.

Gabe threw his hands up. “Fine. You know, you should have just told me you were gonna have a girl over. I would’ve waited for your signal to come back, but no you had to go be all secretive about it…” he mumbled on his way out, pretending to be offended.

Cas sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. His brother was the ultimate fuckboy sometimes, and downright obsessed with sex, but there were times when he was almost okay. At the same time, Cas was doing his damn best to resist the urge to seek more friction from Dean’s hand, or just join him under the covers for another round.

Gabe stopped in the doorway, like he was never going to just fucking leave already. “I almost forgot. There’s this car parked outside of the house, and I have no idea what it’s doing there, do you?"

Cas’s mouth went dry, and any action that was happening on Dean’s part under the sheets came to a standstill. “What car?” he managed to get the words out and play dumb.

“This big ass black muscle car parked right in front of our house. I feel like I’ve seen it at school before- can’t remember whose it is, but it seems familiar…”

Cas shook his head. “I don’t remember seeing any cars like that at school.”

“Huh… Are you sure?”

Cas nodded. “Oh!” he acted as if he suddenly remembered something. “You know what? I think I know what you’re talking about. Last night some uh… cops… I think… came over and asked if they could use this spot for a uh…” Cas wracked his brain to think of the word.

“Stakeout?” Gabriel suggested.

“Yes! That’s it. Anyway, I told them that it was fine. They should be gone soon,” he pulled the story out of his ass, praying to God that his brother would buy it.

Gabriel seemed to be completely fine with it at first, then paused. “But… I thought that car was empty…”

“Maybe something happened and they had to leave the car,” Cas shrugged, “I don’t know how stakeouts work, don’t ask me…”

“Okay, okay,” he gave up, then turned back to finish the conversation. “You know Imma alert the Squad about this, right?” he turned back around making finger guns at Cas.

Cas refused to look at him.

“Alright fine. I’m gonna go take a shower,” he stepped away, seemingly going back down the hallway. Dean was about to pop out from under the covers until Gabriel came back without warning. “Little bro just lost his V-card. Finally! I’m proud of you, you know that, right?”

“Gabriel!” Cas snapped.

“Okay! Okay! I’m actually going this time!” Gabriel gave up and finally went into the bathroom, locking the door behind him.

Cas waited a moment before jumping up to close the door and flinging the covers off Dean. He grabbed the wad of Dean’s clothes from under his bed and hurled it toward him. “What the hell was that?” he hissed.

“What?” Dean whispered, catching the clothes and rushing to get dressed.

Cas rolled his eyes, irritated that he needed to explain at all. “Like this wasn’t close enough of a call!”

It finally dawned on Dean that his little stunt might not have been the best idea. “Oh…”

They both had gotten dressed within a new record for both of them of about ten seconds. Dean threw his jacket over his shoulder, not taking the time to tie his shoes. Cas lead him down the stairs to the front door while they could still hear the shower running, and flung the door open.

Dean stepped onto the porch. “Wait,” he whirled around and cupped Cas’s face in his palm. “I love you,” he reminded, and pulled him into an urgent kiss.

“I love you too,” Cas said, resting their foreheads together for a breath.

“CAS!” Gabriel yelled from upstairs, and they heard his footsteps approaching.

“Go! Now!” Cas shut the door as fast as humanly possible, and leaned flat against it with a smile plastered on his face as his brother entered.

“WHY THE FUCK IS ALL THE HOT WATER GONE?!” Gabriel screeched, storming out to the landing overlooking the foyer, nothing but a towel around his waist.

“Um, I- don’t know?” Cas laughed nervously.

Gabe stared at him expectantly until his face molded to express just how disgusted he was. “Oh, _come on_! Really? You guys are fuckin’ nasty…” he rolled his eyes and started back down the hallway.

“ _I’m_ nasty?! Gabriel, I know for a fact you masturbate in that shower _all the time_!” he yelled back at his brother, who ran back to the landing for the specific purpose of flipping Cas off. As he turned back, Cas quietly muttered under his breath “At least I swallow…”

Not quietly enough, however. Gabriel came running back again. “What did you say?” he inquired, his eyebrows knitted together.

Cas went pale. “Nothing!”

“No, you said something. It sounded like you said ‘At least _I_ swallow’,” Gabriel pressed.

“ _She._ I said _she,_ ” Cas corrected, knowing that he had really dug himself into a hole this time.

“No no,” Gabriel shook his head, and Cas knew he was done for. He could see right through him. “I specifically heard ‘I’.”

Cas opened his mouth to respond, when the Impala roared to life outside. Gabriel perked his head up and scampered down the stairs. Clinging to the towel around his waist, he rushed outside to try and catch the car and see who it was. To Cas’s relief, however, the Impala was already long gone down the road and out of sight. Gabriel cursed under his breath and rubbed his brow. He looked back at Cas, defeated.

“Must have... finished their stakeout?” Cas shrugged.

“Whatever,” Gabe grumbled, pushing past Cas and back inside. “You don’t wanna tell me, don’t tell me. Not like I’m your brother or anything.”

Cas followed him back inside after a moment and down the hallway. He tried to explain that he was sorry about the secrecy, though he had his reasons, but didn’t get very far. “Gabriel-”

“Don’t you get it, Cas?” he flipped. It wasn’t as aggressive of an outburst as Cas had expected. “Listen,” he began, not looking his little brother in the eye at first, “I don’t care, okay? I don’t care if you’re bi or gay or trans or whatever. I’m just… I’m trying to protect you, okay?” Gabriel shook his head and locked himself in the bathroom, not leaving any room for further conversation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Took out a smut scene from this chapter too  
> WHY ARE YOU BOOING ME IM RIGHT


	21. Fake It 'Til You Make It

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! Sorry that this chapter took so long. I've been having this m a s s i v e writers block lately, and it took me a long time to work through, especially since this chapter just would not cooperate. Luckily, while battling this I've been able to also get the next few chapters drafted, so yay! :D
> 
> Also, I'd really like all of your opinions on something: I'm debating whether or not I should make this fic into part one of a trilogy, or to just leave it as it is. If you guys wouldn't mind leaving a comment about if you'd like to see more of this story in the future, that would be amazing. 
> 
> Again, thank y'all so much for reading! Love ya!

The first day back from break was far more complicated than it needed to be.

When Dean sat down with the rest of the Nerd Herd for lunch, Charlie was cocooned inside Jo’s arms, crying.

“What happened?” Dean demanded, clenching his fists underneath the table.

“Zach called her a dyke this morning... among other things,” Jo replied through gritted teeth.

Dean felt rage welling up inside of him. They could mess with him and call him all the names that they wanted, but no one-- _no one--_ messes with Charlie. “Are you fucking kidding-”

From the opposite end of the bench, someone cleared his throat. Everyone’s head turned.

Samandriel stood shuffling from foot to foot, clutching onto his brown paper lunch bag for dear life. The whole group’s eyes were on him, but he was mostly looking at Dean.

“Hey Samandriel, what’s up?” Dean forced himself to put on a warm smile, trying to be the one to make Samandriel feel welcome when he knew that none of the others would.

“Hi,” he stuttered, “c-can I sit with you?”

“Sure,” Dean smiled and patted the spot on the bench next to him.

“Thanks!” Samandriel lit up and sat down in a hurry, like any second Dean might change his mind.

Benny and Jo sent their not-so-subtle looks in Dean’s direction, expressing their confusion more than disapproval. Dean took it upon himself to make the introduction.

“Guys, this is my buddy Samandriel. Samandriel, this is Jo, Benny, and Charlie. Say hi, guys,” he waved between them, “play nice...”

“Hi,” Samandriel struggled to get the words out, “I’ve- um- I’ve heard a lot about you guys.”

“Wish we could say the same about you,” Jo said with a sarcastic half-laugh, shooting Dean a sideways glare.

Samandriel didn’t say anything. He reached into his lunch bag as awkwardly as was humanly possible and pulled out a turkey sandwich.

“So, Dean,” Benny cleared his throat, “you wanna tell us how you two know each other?”

“We’re in U.S. History together,” Dean answered before Samandriel had a chance to spill the beans about him being in the musical. From then, the awkward silence continued.

Until Samandriel… Samandrieled.

“So, Dean, tech week is coming up-”

As soon as Dean heard the words “tech week” leave Samandriel’s lips, he stomped on the kid’s foot under the table, feigning a sneeze to cover up the yelp of pain. While Samandriel was still recovering from the throbbing in his foot.

“Bud, can I talk to you for a minute?” he asked.

“Yeah,” Dean answered as calmly as possible, but his insides felt like they were turning into clay and crumbling every time he moved.

Once they were out of earshot, Benny turned to Dean and started shuffling his feet.

“What’s goin’ on, Benny?” Dean asked.

“Brotha…can you keep a secret?” Dean could tell he was nervous.

“Of course, man,” Dean nodded.

“That’s what I thought,” Benny said, looking like a wave of relief had washed over him. “See, I uh… I kind of… I like Jo.”

Dean’s eyebrows practically jumped up to his hairline. “Uhh…”

“I know it sounds weird, but, I really like her,” Benny continued.

“But wait,” Dean held up a finger, “haven’t you been, like, head over heels for that Andrea girl for, like, a million and a half years?”

Benny shrugged. “I dunno, man, I just…” he shook his head, looking off into the distance. “Hey look,” he snapped back into focus, “you got anythin’ on your conscience you wanna talk about?”

Dean wrinkled his nose. “Buddy I think you know better than to ask that question. And no, I’m good.”

“You sure?” Benny narrowed his eyes at him. “Because you know, I just shared a secret with you, you can share a secret with me…”

Dean rolled his eyes, then pinched the bridge of his nose. “Jesus, Benny, is that what this is about?”

Benny shrugged his shoulders again. “Is _what_ what this is about? You tell me.”

“Fuckin’ hell, Benny. You just wanted me to tell you about some big secret you all think I’m keeping, don’t you? You don’t even really like Jo, do you?”

"I mean-"

“Screw this,” Dean muttered to himself and turned on his heels to walk away down the hall.

“I don’t know what’s goin’ on, Dean! None of us do! But just know I've been seein’ you makin’ goo-goo- eyes at the God Squad’s table for months now!” Benny called after him.

Dean couldn’t help but pause for a second, not looking back, before moving on without a word; a whole new level of paranoia was now hanging over his head.


	22. Who's Crying Now?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'd like to use this note to reiterate the homophobic language and bullying tags...
> 
> And I'm sorry.

That Friday, Dean was heading to the cafeteria (like always). He put his headphones, choosing Blank Space to listen to since it had been stuck in his head since he woke up that morning.

“What’s up, Winchester?” Michael sniggered, shoulder-checking him as he ran by, causing Dean’s iPod to fly out of his hand. Michael looked behind him to see Dean crouching down to pick it back up, so he turned back to have some fun.

“Well, well, well, what crappy, outdated music are we listening to today, Dean?” he snatched the iPod away from him.

Dean got to his feet. He reached for his iPod, but Michael blocked his arm and pulled the device out of Dean’s reach, continuing to analyze what was on the screen.

“Taylor Swift?” Michael actually seemed surprised. “That’s faggot music, Winchester. Are you a faggot?”

“Why don’t you just give me back my iPod?” Dean said in a low voice.

“I asked you first, bitch!” Michael pushed Dean against the lockers. Dean winced, looking everywhere but at Michael. He saw Gabriel and the rest of the God Squad gathering to watch the scene. Fantastic.

“Give me my iPod back, Michael,” he gritted his teeth.

Michael took his hands off of Dean, but remained in his personal space. “Answer the question. Are you a faggot? Yes or no? Can’t be that hard, even for a dumbass like you. Come on!” Michael pushed.

“No,” Dean said under his breath.

“I’m sorry, what was that?” Michael cupped a hand behind his ear, leaning in.

“No."

“No what, faggot?” he shoved him again.

“I’m not a faggot!”

Michael laughed wickedly. “Bullshit. You’re a twink if I ever saw one.”

Dean could hear his pulse pounding in his ears. As usual he was frozen, unable to fend for himself.

“I mean, it makes sense,” he continued, “you know what they say about the whole absent father thing. Where _is_ your dad, huh Dean? He dead?” Michael’s voice was quiet and cold. “Or is he just a deadbeat?”

No one acknowledged the uncomfortable silence from the rest of the God Squad. After a moment of staring Dean down, Michael’s eyes drifted down to the amulet hanging around Dean’s neck. “Oh? What’s this?” he took the golden figure between his thumb and forefinger.

That was Dean’s breaking point. “Don’t fucking touch that, you son of a bitch!” he growled, seizing Michael’s wrist and pushing him away into the crowd of students.

Michael was quick to bounce back. “Bet that’s not what you said to your boyfriend last night, huh fag?” He gripped the collar of Dean’s shirt and pushed him against the lockers again, holding him there with his forearm, when a voice from the end of the hall stopped him.

“Michael Cohen! In my office! NOW!” Mrs. Harvelle commanded from the end of the hall.

Michael had no choice but to let go of Dean and follow the English teacher, but not without throwing one last glare at Dean and dropping his iPod on the floor. The rest of the God Squad cleared out without a word between them. Cas lingered for a moment to give Dean his typical apologetic look.

Now alone in the hallway, Dean picked up his iPod off the ground. He clenched it tightly in his fist and slammed his fist on the locker nearest to him.

“God! Damn! It!” he cursed through gritted teeth as he punched the wall, seething. He took a moment to himself to think about just how much he’d like to shove Michael into a bottomless pit. Michael had said some nasty things to him in the past, but that really takes the cake. After mentally taking a cold shower, Dean braced himself to join his friends in the cafeteria. On his way, he passed Ellen’s office, and if he didn’t know Ellen, he would be terrified by what he heard through the door. Instead, he was just pleased.

“You know, some other kids around here might worship you, but to me you’re just a good-for-nothing slug, you know that?” Ellen’s voice was clear as a bell to Dean when he pressed his ear up against the closed door.

“Yes, ma’am,” Michael squeaked.

“Good,” Ellen continued harshly, “because if you so much as lay a finger on Dean Winchester again, you are going straight to Principal Shurley’s office, and he’s gonna be the one to deal with you. You hear?”

“Yes ma’am,” Dean heard the whimper again. Once he had heard enough to satisfy him, he thought it best to move on before Ellen let him go. Dean took a deep breath, and plugged his headphones in to forget the world, this time with no one around to torment him for it.

Dean absentmindedly mouthed the words along to the music as he sat down at his table.

“DEAN!” Jo shouted, yanking the headphones out of his ears. Apparently they had been trying to get his attention but the music was too loud for him to hear. “We heard about what happened a couple minutes ago,” she said solemnly.

“Yeah, you alright, brotha? Sorry we weren’t there to help you out at all,” Benny cut in.

“Wait!” Charlie held up a hand to silence their friends. She picked up one of his headphones and listened to a bit of it. “The hell is this?” she tossed the headphone back to him. Jo and Benny each took one of the earbuds and did the same.

“Ugh!” Benny dropped the cord like it was contaminated.

“Who are you and what’ve you done with Dean Winchester?” Jo half-laughed, yet they all knew she wasn’t joking in the slightest.

“Guys, what’s the problem?” Dean asked.

“What’s the _problem_?!” Charlie scoffed. “Dean, not to sound rude or anything, but we’re kind of worried about you…”

“Worried? W- Why would you guys need to be worried about me? And come on, what does one Taylor Swift song have to do with this?”

“I don’t know if you’ve really noticed, Dean, but you’ve been acting really weird the past few months,” Charlie continued. “You’ve been blowing us off more and more without ever telling us why, after school you’ve always got a ‘thing’ every single day that you never want to tell us about, and now you’re listening to Top 40 music? Not to mention you’re going to the ‘bathroom’ every day at lunch now like a senior citizen with a goddamn bladder infection, when all of us know you’re like a freaking camel and never drink any water…”

“Come on guys, it’s not like I’m going jock or anything like that!” Dean did his best to defend himself, but unfortunately he wasn’t used to lying to his friends. “Listen, my life has just been... it’s been a little crazy lately. You can’t expect me to just act completely normal! Look, come on, Benny, you’re a guy. You understand, don’t you?” Dean was just talking out of his ass at this point. He thought that maybe if nothing he said made any logical sense, they’d stop asking questions. He was very wrong.

Benny went wide eyed when Dean addressed him directly. He shrunk back into his shell and shrugged, looking to the girls for any sort of explanation or direction.

“Ugh, now you’re just being sexist,” Jo said, disgusted. “And if you’re life is getting so crazy, why don’t you just tell us what’s going on? We’re your best friends, Dean. I’ve known you since before preschool. What is it that’s going on that you can’t tell us about?”

Dean’s mouth went dry and he averted his eyes. “I wouldn’t expect you to understand…” he mumbled.

“So explain it to us,” Benny spoke up.

Dean looked at his shoes, not saying a word.

“That’s it. I’m done.” Jo picked up her tray and moved over to Garth and Becky’s table.

“Jo, c’mon, wait a second,” Dean tried to stop her as she left. “Charlie-”

Charlie gave him a sympathetic look before following Jo.

“Sorry,” Benny frowned before doing the same.

Now with no one at his table, he had a clear view of the God Squad’s table. He witnessed Meg reaching over the table to pull on the silver chain barely visible around Cas’s neck. She took the angel wing between her pale, clammy fingers and said something that Dean couldn’t make out from where he was sitting. Whatever it was, it was enough to grab the attention of everyone at the table. Against his will and looking terribly embarrassed, Cas was pulled on top of the lunch table by the chain of the necklace. As everyone was clambering to see the pendant, Dean could hear the chorus of “Where’d you get this?” and “Who’s ‘D’?”.

“Oh, guys! I almost forgot the big news!” Gabriel stood on top of the table and got the attention of their friends, beaming.

“Gabriel I _swear to God-”_ Cas warned, but Gabriel plowed right through him.

“Cas has a secret girlfriend and they totally did it over spring break!” Gabriel spewed it all out in one breath and threw his hands up, cheering. The whole group broke out into congratulatory whoops and hollers. Gabriel and the other guys in the Squad reached over to pat Cas on the back, who didn’t break his death glare towards his big brother. Amidst the commotion, Cas’s eyes flickered over to Dean, only long enough for the two of them to notice. Dean smiled weakly, still not necessarily happy about the fact that Cas stood by while Michael said what he said.

 _‘Speak of the devil…’_ Dean thought when he saw Michael rejoin the God Squad’s table. Contradictory to the reaction Dean had expected, (and probably what Michael expected as well), the whole Squad that he had once so charismatically led, went silent. They all looked at him like a convicted felon, and shrunk back into their previous positions at the table as he took a few steps closer, with Cas back to being squished on the very end of the bench. Pretty soon, most of the cafeteria was silent as the grave, trying not to watch what Michael’s next move would be.

“What?!” Michael cast a glare at the entire room. “What are all you fuckers looking at?”

“I think you know, Michael,” Anna sat straight, looking him dead in the eyes.

“Know what? I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about,” he replied haughtily. “Bitch…” he cursed under his breath.

“Hey! Don’t talk to Anna like that!” Gabriel stood up.

“Oh, look who’s Mr. Hero all of a sudden!” Michael laughed.

 _‘He must be losing his goddamn mind,’_ Dean thought.

“You went too far, dude,” Gabe raised his voice.

Dean couldn’t believe what he was seeing.

“Excuse me?” Michael scoffed, “I’ve gone too far?”

“Making fun of a kid’s dead parents? That’s a whole new level of fucked up and you know it. You know, it wouldn’t kill you to not be a complete asshole for once!” 

Michael’s explosive temper once again reared it’s ugly head. “Oh _I’m_ the asshole! That’s right, I’m the fucked up one! You wanna talk about what’s fucked up, Gabe? Turning on your friends. That’s fucked up!” he shouted and rushed out of the scene. “Sorry, Cas…” he grumbled a half-assed apology when he bumped into Cas, on his way to a destination unknown to everyone in the cafeteria, including Michael himself.

As soon as he left, there wasn’t a soul in the room that didn’t start gossiping. Dean sat awestruck at the empty table, still unable to take his eyes off of the God Squad’s table. Both of the Novak brothers were casting glances over to him.

“Well _that_ was an unexpected turn of events. Wouldn’t you say, Dean?” Dean jumped at the sound of Crowley’s voice directly behind him.

After the initial shock wore off, Dean rubbed his brow in exasperation. “What do you want?”

“Oh, nothing. It’s just that Michael’s little speech rather inspired me. You shouldn’t turn against your friends. Quite true. Now, I don’t consider myself one to betray _my_ friends-”

“You don’t have any friends, Crowley,” Dean interjected.

“-but it does certainly remind me of _someone_ I know. But I can’t specifically remember who it was. What about you, Dean? Can you think of anyone who might fit that description?”

Dean rolled his eyes. His phone vibrated where it sat on the table.

“Oh! Who might _this_ be?” Crowley said in an all too cheery voice, reaching for Dean’s phone, before Dean plucked it off the table and read the text, guarding it from Crowley’s sight. The last thing that he needed was someone reading his texts over his shoulder.

**From: Angel**

**\---I’m sorry about Michael. Anna said that he’s going through some family things right now, but she doesn’t exactly have the right to tell us more than that.---**

“Come on, Dean. We’re pals, aren’t we? You don’t need to hide anything from me. After all, I already know everything,” Crowley said.

Dean didn’t take his eyes off his phone. “Shut up Crowley,” he growled.

**To: Angel**

**\---i dont give a shit whats going on in michaels life. hes still a dick and no amount of sob stories is gonna change that---**

**From: Angel**

**\---I’m not saying that what he did was okay. Believe me, I want to give him a piece of my mind as much as you do, but I can’t.---**

**To: Angel**

**\---thats bullshit u can as much as i can---**

**From: Angel**

**\---It’s not that simple, Dean.---**

**To: Angel**

**\---like hell it isnt. youre just scared---**

**From: Angel**

**\---It’s not like that.---**

**To: Angel**

**\---of course its fucking like that! ur so scared for ur precious reputation, u cant stand up for the person u love. or were u lying to me when u said that?---**

Dean shut his eyes, clenching every muscle in his body in an attempt to force back the tears that burned his eyes.

**From: Angel**

**\---I would never lie to you! Especially not about something like that. Why are you always so paranoid?---**

**To: Angel**

**\---oh idk maybe because of the assholes ur so hell bent on impressing---**

**From: Angel**

**\---No. It’s because you’ve gotten yourself into such a hole of self loathing that you can’t ever realize something good when it happens to you.---**

**To: Angel**

**\---sure because ur such a blessing---**

**From: Angel**

**\---Don’t you dare act like this is my fault. There was nothing I could have done.---**

**To: Angel**

**\---u keep telling urself that sweetheart---**

“Having a bit of a domestic there, Dean?” Crowley goaded at precisely the wrong time.

Dean’s mind went blank. The next thing he knew, he was feeling the crunch of Crowley’s bones against his knuckles, and the whole cafeteria erupted. When he came to his senses, he was standing over a bleeding Crowley that was begging for mercy.

“Holy _shit_!” All of a sudden Charlie was at his side, pulling him off of Crowley, with Jo sliding Crowley out from under him.

***

Nearly every day of Dean’s life for the past three years, he had spent some amount of time in Ellen’s classroom. Yet so far he has had the extreme fortune to never see the interior of Mrs. Harvelle’s office-- until today.

Ellen stood with her arms crossed over her chest, tapping her toe. Dean was sure she was considering what to do with him. The gallows? The chair? Calling his mother? He couldn’t think of what was worse.

Dean took a deep breath, averting his eyes, before attempting to speak up. “Ellen-”

“That’s Mrs. Harvelle to you,” she snapped. If Dean were a dog, his tail would be between his legs. “Just what were you thinkin’?”

Dean sighed. “I-”

“Do you have any idea how pissed I am with you? What did that boy do to you anyway?” Ellen barked.

“I-”

“You know, I could have you in a lot more trouble for this, without even letting you explain yourself, but here I am. So your story better be a damn good one.”

“I-"

It was like the words would never stop streaming out of Ellen’s mouth. “Why do you always have to make a scene out of everything, Dean? Everything has to be this big dramatic display. You and Jo watch _way_ too many cheesy movies,” she rolled her eyes.

“I _would_ explain myself, if you’d just _let me talk!_ ” Dean broke. Even with Ellen now silent, he struggled to get the words out. “He made fun of Cas,” he choked out after a considerable pause.

Ellen raised her eyebrows. “Cas?”

“Well, no, not Cas,” Dean rubbed his forehead, “my, uh, relationship with him. Cas and I- we’re kind of…” Dean trailed off, unsure of how to continue the story. What exactly were they? Fighting? Was this their first real fight? Or had the brutal hand of reality finally slapped him in the face and they had broken up? “It’s hard to explain. Crowley caught me at pretty much the worst time.”

As Dean composed a bullshit story that even he himself wasn’t entirely sure whether or not it was true, (it must have been, though it sounded like bullshit to his ears), Ellen nodded in understanding. At the end of the conversation, she didn’t breathe a word of response to the story itself; only nodded her head towards the door and half-heartedly told him to get out of her office before she sent him to Shurley.

Dean didn’t need to be told twice. Without a word, he jumped out of his seat, tossing his backpack over his shoulder (because he had finally made the switch to a backpack instead of carrying everything with his hands). It had been an entire period since lunch, but Dean had the good fortune of Ellen offering to excuse him from his missed class.

As soon as the door closed behind him the bell rang. Dean turned down the quickly flooding hallway, only to come face to face with Gabriel. Dean’s first instinct was to punch the fucker in the teeth, but as soon as he curled his hand into a fist, he heard Cas’s voice in his head from one of their conversations a few weeks back: _“You see, he’s not really that bad of a person. I just like to think of him as more misguided than anything.”_ The sound of Cas’s laugh rings through his head, making him feel butterflies like he always does when Cas laughs, but at the same time reminding him of their fight earlier.

“Put that away, big boy,” Gabriel nods toward Dean’s fist, arms crossed over his chest and looking slightly amused. “I’m not here for that.”

Dean lowered his fist, (not because he was told to, but because he was doing it anyway, he told himself), and blinked in confusion.

“I’m here to, uh…” Gabriel all of a sudden turned shy. “I’m kind of…”

Dean almost felt sorry for the guy for how much he was struggling with words.

“You see, my brother, he, uh…”

Dean’s eyes widened at the mention of Cas. Gabriel took no notice, since he was too busy rubbing the back of neck and staring at his shoes.

“Look, I’m sorry about Michael, okay? Are you happy now?” Gabriel spewed out the  words in one breath. His last question seemed to be directed toward some absent entity rather than Dean.

Dean narrowed his eyes. “Why are you saying this?”

Gabe sighed. “Because it was a dick thing to do, okay? We all think so. And… okay, so maybe my brother has a little bit of a soft spot for you, so I told him I’d apologize to you,” he admitted.

Dean feels a lump rising in his throat. “So how come Cas didn’t just come talk to me himself?”

“I don’t know,” Gabriel shrugged. “Something happened near the end of lunch he didn’t tell any of us about. Between you and me, I think he might’ve gotten into a little spat with his bo- I mean, uh, his girlfriend. He seemed pretty pissed off but he didn’t want to talk to me about it.”

 _‘“Little spat.” What the hell is_ Cas _so pissed about? I’m the one who gets used as a doormat on a daily basis. Wait… was he about to say boyfriend? Shit, does he know? If he knew, he’d be talking to you about that right now, not Michael. Don’t be stupid, Winchester. Just keep your trap shut so he doesn’t get suspicious.’_

Despite the million things that ran through Dean’s head, the only thing that escaped his lips was: “Huh.” He realized now how rumors are spread so quickly, with how easily Gabe just let part of Cas’s personal business slip out.

“Anyway,” Gabe broke the awkward silence, “are we cool now?”

“Uh,” Dean froze. No. They were not cool in any sense of the word. He still thought Gabriel was a dick, and that wasn’t likely to change any time soon, even with the half-assed apology he just forced out, probably encouraged by his little brother (who Dean just happened to be dating). Nevertheless, Dean somehow understood just how much someone like Gabriel is risking right now to stop and talk to him without insult him. This realization, combined with the fact that Dean didn’t want to make any more issues today, lead him to settle for: “I guess so.”

Gabe lit up. “Cool,” he said, making finger guns and moving away down the hall. “See ya’ later, Dean-o!”

Dean, who was baffled with the entire exchange that had just taken place, couldn’t help but feel slightly offended by the nickname. Only Charlie was allowed to call him that, dammit.

Charlie…

Charlie, Benny, Jo…

_Traitors._

So here he was, only just over halfway through the day, with his dignity destroyed once again, and not just his best friends but possibly the love of his life slipping through his fingers.

This was gonna be a rough night.


	23. Jude Made It Bad Anyway

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, just a warning, Dean gets very violent in this chapter, and it's kind of......... bloody? So I'm sorry if this qualifies as Graphic Depictions of Violence but I didn't tag it, because I'm never quite sure what qualifies as graphic, but this is definitely more graphic/intense than anything I've written so far. If I need to change the archive warnings, leave a comment and tell me if I should and I won't hesitate to change it.

All Dean heard was the sound of everything he had crashing to the ground. He felt a soreness in his arms and a fire in his lungs. Everything he saw was covered by a film, distorting the vision of his bedroom being trashed right in front of his eyes. And he didn’t care that he was the one doing it.

“Dean?” Sam cracked the door open and poked his head through the narrow space. He spoke just above a whisper in an attempt to get his attention, but anyone who was already giving him that would be able to see that the youngest Winchester was terrified-- for both himself and his brother.

Dean, however, didn’t pick up on how horrified Sam was. Dean’s mind processed Sam’s concern as just another person to pile on more shit to the day. And the last thing he needed was more shit piled on. He grabbed the 1989 CD off the ground and hurled it at Sam’s head.

Sam was lucky enough to dodge the throw, cursing as he did so. He tried again at conversation through the now-closed door. “Dean, what happened?”

Everything went silent on both sides of the door. After a long pause, Dean opened the door just enough to look at Sam. “Nothing, Sammy. I’m fine.”

Sam hesitated before asking the dreaded question: “Do you wanna talk about it?”

He slammed the door in Sam’s face.

***

“Dean?” Mary poked her head inside the door the next Friday afternoon. “Dean, you really need to come out of your room, sweetie. It’s been a week and I’ve hardly seen you,” she sat down on his bed where he lay face down.

At the shift of weight on the mattress, Dean tensed. Every new disturbance in his day made him feel violent. All he wanted was to disappear, have the entire world around him disappear, or seriously beat the crap out of someone.

“I made pie,” Mary said with a smile. She was desperate to draw him out of his room and get some explanation of what happened, (from his perspective, that is, since all she knew was what Ellen had told her over the phone), but more importantly get him to talk some things out.

No answer.

Suddenly Dean felt his mother’s hand gently placed on his back, rubbing soothing circles and stroking his hair as she began to sing.

_“Hey Jude, don’t make it bad._

_Take a sad song and make it better._

_Remember to let it into your heart,_

_then you can start to make it better.”_

Dean thought he was done crying, dammit. Yet another tear or two went straight to his pillow while his mom attempted to comfort him. He remained wordless, but he couldn’t hide his shaking shoulders and silent sobs muffled by the pillow.

“I know, honey,” she whispered, “but nothing is going to be solved by you just sitting in your room moping. If you come and talk things out, everything’s gonna work itself out. I promise.”

No answer.

“Sam wants to talk to you, too.”

***

Sam’s door was open. Dean knocked anyway.

“What?” Sam snapped without turning around from where he sat at his desk.

“It’s me,” Dean shoved his hands in his pockets and cringed. Whenever Sam had a tone like this, it couldn’t mean anything good.

Sam whipped around immediately at the sound of Dean’s voice. “Hey,” he stared at his brother like he had just risen from the grave. He stood up to hug him-- when did he get to be taller than Dean? He took one large stride to close the distance between them and flung his arms around his big brother.

Dean was the first to pull away from the hug. “Mom said you wanted to talk to me,” he rubbed the back of his neck, not knowing what to say. He didn’t so much as give Sam a second look.

Sam swallowed hard. “She did?”

“Yeah. Did you… not want to?”

“No, no, I do, it’s just…” Sam averted his eyes, and forgot to finish his sentence.

That was when Dean noticed the blooms of green, purple, and yellow under a good portion of his baby brother’s skin. Dean felt his mouth go dry while his eyes zeroed in on the bruises. “Sam, what happened?”

A flash of shame crossed Sam’s features. “Sammy,” he demanded again after not receiving an answer, “who did that to you?”

Sam sighed and turned away. “No one…”

“Don’t lie to me, Sam. Now tell me what sack of shit is picking on you.”

Sam braced himself before sitting back down in his desk chair. “His name’s Dirk. This has… kind of been happening for a while, ever since he moved here after spring break. He, uh… He doesn’t like me very much,” Sam hung his head low.

“Sammy…” Dean shook his head, “why didn’t you tell me?”

Sam shrugged. “I figured you had enough on your plate already. And anyway, this is my crap, not yours, so it wouldn’t be right to throw that on you.”

“Dude, I’m your brother. Your crap is my _job_. Now tell me where the fucker is,” Dean’s tone turned to ice, and it didn’t go unnoticed.

Sam’s eyes went wide. “What? No, Dean, you’re not gonna just track the guy down and beat him up! You’ll get arrested! And either way, I can handle it. I don’t need you fighting my battles for me.”

“Psh, yeah, obviously you’ve got it covered…” Dean rolled his eyes. “And I don’t care about whatever stupid pride you’ve got about this. No one messes with my little brother and gets away with it. Now I’m only gonna ask one more time: where is the son of a bitch?”

***

_It took a while, but Dean finally pried the location of the little snot out of his brother, and was able to find his house. It wasn’t too hard to find him, considering that his house ended up being just slightly off course of their previous route that the brothers took when walking to school before Dean got the Impala. He stopped the car in front of the house that smelled the most of cowardice and disrespect for all that was pure in the world, and scoped out his surroundings for any possible witnesses. No one was outside walking around, and there weren’t any cars parked in front of the house. Looked like it was Dean’s lucky day._

_Dean walked up to the porch, locking Baby behind him. He took another quick check of his surroundings before pounding his fist on the front door of the bully’s house._

_When a pudgy kid about Sam’s age answered the door, Dean wasted no time in getting down to business. “Are you Dirk?” he asked._

_“Yeah?” the kid answered with such an attitude that made Dean want to punch his lights out even more. So this was the shit bag that was picking on Sammy._

_“Stay away from my brother,” Dean said calmly, then grabbed Dirk by his shirt and yanked him out into the empty driveway._

_“Woah, hey, I don’t even know who you are!” The kid tried to squirm his way out of a fight, but Dean wouldn’t let him._

_“The name Sam Winchester ring a bell?” Dean snapped, his patience wearing thin. When Dirk’s eyes went wide, Dean snarled: “Thought so,” and gave him a right hook to the jaw._

_Dean kicked the ever-living shit out of him, spurred on with every expression of pain, every plea for mercy, every drop of blood on his knuckles. He knew exactly what he was doing to this boy. He knew the pain he was causing. The pain that Dean had experienced nearly every day, the pain that was now being inflicted on Sammy, all concentrated into a minute or less. Pretty soon, Dirk was on the ground. Dean kicked him in the ribs before climbing on top of him to hold him down, and punching him in the face. Over and over again. All of a sudden, it wasn’t even Dirk he saw in front of him anymore. It was a whimpering sack of flesh and snapped cartilage, whom Dean could picture as anyone. No, it wasn’t even Dirk beneath him anymore. It was Michael. And Crowley. And Gabriel. And then it was Cas in front of him._

_Cas._

_As soon as the image of his angel, bloodied and broken, came into his mind, Dean felt like his lungs had stopped working. Like Satan had personally approached him, whispered in his ear: “Look what you’ve become. You’re one of them now,” as he ripped Dean’s heart out of his chest and forced him to watch it being thrown off of a cliff and snatched by an eagle to be fed to its young._

***

Dean snapped out of his trance, his heart pounding and fists clenched. He looked out the window at the house he had found, and took a deep, shaky breath when he realized it was all just a daydream. He had never even gotten out of the car. A really, really bad daydream. 

Shaking, Dean started the car again and drove away and towards home as fast as he could. His knuckles were white, gripping onto the wheel for dear life, as he tried to calm himself down. Dean took another shaky breath and swiped a hand down his face. That was when he heard his phone in his pocket.

**From: Angel**

That was all Dean saw.

Then everything went black.


	24. Quiet Is Violent

**To: Dean**

**\---I know you’re probably still mad at me, and you have every right to be. I’m so sorry. You were right. I should have stood up for you. I hope you can forgive me. I love you, and that’s not going to change any time soon. I hope you can forgive me. I don’t want to fight anymore. Please just talk to me. I miss you.---**

It was seven hours since Castiel sent that text message. He couldn’t sleep. Cas knew that as upset as Dean was with him, he wasn’t likely to answer for a while, but this was different. Something was definitely wrong. Cas decided to risk looking clingy and picked his phone back up off his nightstand (where he had been staring at it all this time) and called Dean.

“Cas?” a woman’s voice whimpered on the other end, and he instantly recognized it.

“Mrs. Winchester? What’s wrong?”

“It’s Dean,” she said. “There was an accident.”


	25. As An Author, I, Too, Am Frustrated With The Extremes That Must Take Place In Order For These Characters To Resolve Jack Shit

Everything was white. And blurry. And cold.

And beeping.

Dean had no idea why. Was he dead? Was this Heaven? If this was Heaven, whoever put it together certainly did a shit job of it. Sam wasn’t even there.

No, this was far from Heaven, he figured out as a sharp pain engulfed his head and torso. Everything came into focus as he slowly sat up to see his mom, brother, and Bobby all speaking in nervous whispers.

“Oh, thank God! You’re awake!” Mary let out a breath.

“It’s been hours,” Sam interjected, frustration in his voice.

“You’re lucky that car hit you from the right,” the doctor said.

Dean blinked. “Wait, what?”

“You got T-boned, son,” Bobby said.

“You mean you don’t remember how it happened?” Sam asked.

“All I remember was checking my phone…” Dean shook his head in confusion.

“Well, it’s a miracle you’re still alive, let alone how many injuries you avoided,” the doctor cut back in. “You did, however, receive a concussion, and you bruised a few ribs, but luckily, no major bones broken. You must have angels watching over you, kid.” With a warm smile following this last comment, the doctor left the Winchesters alone.

“Dean, what were you even doing out? I didn’t even know you left the house until you were already gone!” Mary said.

“I, uh…” Dean’s brow furrowed, as he tried to explain the shameful yet hazy memories he had of the night before.

The next time Dean looked up, a familiar face was standing in the doorway, with his hair tousled at bedhead levels, panting like he just ran a mile and wearing the same dorky trench coat Dean had fallen in love with. Hope welled up in his chest. “Cas?”

“Dean,” Cas rushed into the empty chair next to the hospital bed. “Are you alright? I'm sorry, Dean, I’m so sorry!” he lightly took Dean’s hand into his own, tears building up in his eyes.

Dean laced their fingers together. “Cas, what are you talking about?”

“This is all my fault,” Cas lamented, “if I had never sent you that text, if I had never given you reason to be angry with me-”

“Cas,” Dean cut him off, “it’s okay. I'm okay. Or at least I will be,” he smiled weakly.

“I'm just glad you're alive.” Cas squeezed Dean’s hand. All Cas could do was sit and stare at Dean.

Dean broke the silence. “I’d kiss you, but I don't exactly have much mobility, here, Cas.”

Cas wasted no time in fulfilling Dean’s implied request. He practically flew forward, resting a hand on either side of Dean before leaning down to give him an earnest kiss. “I thought I’d lost you… I don’t know what I’d do with myself…” Cas muttered between frantic kisses as he moved a hand to cup Dean’s face.

“You could always use your angel mojo to bring me back to life,” Dean winked after pulling away, grabbing Cas’s hand that was on his cheek and weaving their fingers together.

Overcome by emotion, he couldn’t help but kiss Dean again, a single tear running down his cheek. He rested their foreheads together. “ _Don’t do that again_ ,” he commanded.

While the two of them were lost in their own world, Bobby was rolling his eyes, muttering “I knew it”, before he and Mary temporarily left the room. Sam remained in his chair opposite the bed, looking anywhere but their direction.

Eventually, being that it was well after midnight, Sam and Cas had to leave and get some sleep (as if that was going to happen). Cas promised to come back as soon as he could in the morning. Shrugging his trench coat back on, he reminded Dean that he loved him, kissed him on the cheek, and turned to leave.

“Cas, wait,” Dean called.

Cas turned back around, already halfway out the door.

“I’m sorry,” Dean confessed, “about everything.”

Cas smiled weakly. “We can talk about it in the morning. Get your rest.”


	26. All Hell Breaks Loose: Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Quite a bit of screaming, then something resembling peace.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A CHAPTER HAS COME A CHAPTER HAS COME STOP THE PRESSES
> 
> It's been exactly a month since I've posted a chapter I'm so sorry you guys I've just gotten really busy really fast. I've already got the next chapter partially written, so maybe it won't be so long of a wait, but I can't even predict my schedule at this point. I have so much schoolwork to do. Ugh.
> 
> Thanks for being patient, everyone. I hope this chapter satisfies.

The Nerd Herd checked in as visitors, Jo leading the pack and holding the bouquet of daffodils. Word had spread about the accident quickly throughout the group after Mary had passed the news on to Ellen, so here they all were.

Jo spotted him first, through the small window next to the door. She stopped dead in her tracks, flowers dropping to her side. The boy sitting next to Dean was definitely familiar. He had his back turned to them, holding Dean’s hand, unidentifiable.

Charlie and Benny continued toward the room, babbling amongst themselves about something that Jo couldn’t care less about at the moment. Something was way too wrong about this.

Charlie yanked open the door and they both froze just as Jo caught up with them.

“Guys! Hey!” Dean smiled at them, obviously surprised at their presence. His 

concussion really must have taken a toll for him not to notice the elephant in the room.

Sitting horrified next to Dean was none other than Cas Novak.

“Oh,  _ hell  _ no!” Jo broke through to the front of the pack, who were sitting stunned. “What are  _ you  _ doing here?” she hissed.

Cas stood up, looking thoroughly confused of what to do. “I’m uh…” he looked back to Dean, who was just as confused. “I’m the one who hit Dean. I’m very sorry,” he said flatly before attempting to push his way out of the room.

“Cas,” Dean reached out to grab his wrist before he could get too far away. “No...” he shook his head.

Cas tilted his head. “Dean… 

“Cas is- Cas and I- We… Shit, this is so hard to say…” Dean ran a hand down his face.

“What?” Jo snapped, “He said he was sorry and all of a sudden you’re besties or something-”

“He’s my boyfriend,” Dean blurted. “He has been for a while now.”

Once the words left Dean’s lips, there was no taking them back. The hospital room was as silent as the grave. The girls looked at Dean like he had just grown an extra set of limbs.

“What?” Charlie squeaked.

_ ‘Perfect,’  _ Dean thought. This was exactly what he was afraid of.

“Wow,” Benny whistled, shaking his head.

“You…” Jo couldn’t get the words out. Her mouth was moving like codfish, but Dean knew it was only a matter of seconds until the fuse had burned out and the bomb went off. “You…”

“Okay,” Dean held up his right hand, his other still latched onto Cas’s, “guys, I know what you’re thinking…”

“I don’t know, I’m thinking a lot of things right now,” Benny said.

“You… what the hell?” Jo hissed, the anger building following the confusion. 

Charlie’s face was crumpling. She didn’t say a word.

“You can’t be serious!” Jo half-laughed. She shifted her gaze to Cas, who was looking between Dean and the door. When she didn’t receive an answer, her face dropped. “Oh my god.”

Dean waited. 3… 2… 1…

“What the hell?” Jo finally snapped. “No- Dean- what the  _ fuck _ ?” 

Soon everyone else was joining in the screaming match, and Dean really wished that Sam would hurry the fuck up with his trip to the bathroom and help to diffuse the situation.

“And you!” Jo turned on Cas, “how dare you think you have the right to even come  _ near _ him!”

“Guys…” Dean tried to interject, not wanting Cas to become the target--it wasn’t his fault. The noise level had gotten so high in that small room that Dean thought he could physically feel it pressing on his brain.

“ _ Me? _ ” Cas spat, “I’ve treated him better than any of you ever have. You are the ones that have no respect for him! Why do you think he never told you about us?”

“Guys please…” Dean’s head was  _ really  _ starting to hurt. This was too much.

“What makes you think you even know him?” Benny cut in.

“And you do?” Cas glared, stepping toward Benny.

“Listen up, dickwad,” Jo jabbed a finger into Cas’s chest, “I’ve known Dean since we were in diapers. He’s like my brother. So yeah, I think I know him better than some popular, rich asshole who decided he wanted to experiment with boys because he’s living in his brother’s shadow.”

Cas took hold of Jo’s wrist, squeezing and forcing her hand away from his chest. “Don’t ever presume to know who I am,” Cas growled.

“Can everyone just shut up for five seconds?” Dean grumbled. The room began to spin around him.

Charlie scoffed at Cas. “Because you’re such a mystery…”

Dean’s nausea grew with the tension in the room until he had to grab the damn trash can next to the bed himself just so he had something to puke into. That shut everyone up pretty quickly. His friends sat staring wondering what to do, while Cas rushed back into the chair next to him, rubbing circles over Dean’s back and whispering apologies.

“ _ Oh… _ ” was Sam’s knee-jerk reaction to the scene he had just walked in on, alerting everyone to his presence as he shifted uncomfortably in the doorway. “I guess that’s  _ one _ way to come out, huh?”

***

Charlie was the last man standing as far as putting up with Dean and Cas in the same room together. After the others bailed, Charlie waited behind. She wasn’t quitting on him that easily.

“Um, Cas?” she cleared her throat. “Do you mind if Dean and I could talk alone for a sec?” she asked, still intimidated by being in such close quarters with him.

Cas looked to Dean, who nodded, before agreeing and leaving the room.

Dean held in a groan as she sat down next to him, taking Cas’s place. He really wasn’t up for a scolding from one of his favorite people, but at least she was willing to talk to him.

“I’m sorry about your head… and your ribs…” she said.

“Thanks,” Dean huffed, eyes flickering up to hers and then back down.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” she asked. Her voice wasn’t as harsh or severe as Dean expected, but soft and gentle.

“I don’t know, Charlie,” he confessed, “I was just scared, I guess.”

“About the Cas part or the bi part?” Charlie remained unaggressive, though she clearly was not unhurt by the whole affair.

“Both, I guess,” Dean looked down at his hands folded in his lap.

“How could you be scared of coming out to us? At least to me? You know I would never judge you for that…”

“Yeah, I know...” Dean mumbled. “I’m sorry I didn’t trust you.”

The two went back to avoiding contact for another thirty seconds or so, until Charlie broke the silence.

“So… Cas, huh?”

“You’re mad, I know,” Dean said.

“Well, a little…” Charlie admitted. “I just don’t understand. Why didn’t you tell us?”

“Well, gee, Charlie,” Dean rolled his eyes, “what would you guys have done if I  _ had _ told you?”

Charlie thought it over.

“Would it have been any less of a disaster than what just happened?” Dean added.

“...Good point.” Charlie said.

“Look, I’m sorry I kept it from you, but…” God, he sounded like a freaking girl. “I can’t say I’m sorry for being with him. And to be honest, I’m almost as surprised as you are with the whole thing,” he smiled weakly.

It was a few moments before Charlie responded. “Do you love him?”

“Yeah,” Dean nodded, “yeah I do.”

Charlie gave a small nod, still processing everything. “I should probably get going now. You know, homework, fictional characters to doodle…” she stood up.

Dean’s face fell. He wasn’t sure how much he wanted her to leave. “Right. Okay, kiddo.”

“See ya, Dean-o,” Charlie smiled and walked out.

Cas re-entered the room and took Dean’s hand after sitting back down. “How did everything go?”

“Surprisingly, not horrible. How are you holding up?”

“I’m alright,” he shrugged. “How are  _ you? _ ” he brought Dean’s knuckles to his lips.

“If I’m being completely honest, I’m exhausted,” Dean confessed, yawning a little.

“If you want me to leave so you can sleep, that’s perfectly fine. I can come back later,” Cas offered.

“Cas, it’s okay, you don’t have to-”

“Dean, you need your rest if you’re going to recover from this faster,” Cas insisted. “Besides, Gabriel just texted me and said my family wants me at home right now. Apparently he’s invited nearly the whole school over to our house for a birthday party which I never asked for.”

Dean rubbed his brow. “Shit, that’s right, it’s your birthday, isn’t it?”  _ ‘Way to throw the cherry on top of a fantastic day, Dean. Forget your boyfriend’s birthday…’ _

“It was two days ago, but yes,” Cas deadpanned.

“Dammit…” Dean grumbled to himself. “Cas I’m so sorry, I’ll make it up to you,” he promised.

“Dean, it’s fine. I didn’t want much attention drawn to my birthday anyway, but I suppose we don’t always get what we wish for,” Cas sighed.

“No, no, I’ve been an ass anyway. I owe it to you. How about I take you out somewhere once I get out of here, huh? We could go on a real date for once,” Dean suggested.

Cas smiled. “That sounds nice.” He stood up, but bent down to kiss Dean before leaving. “I love you. I’ll be back later. Get some rest, okay?” he said, their foreheads still touching.

“Okay,” Dean agreed. “I love you too.”

It only took five minutes after Cas left until Dean was sleeping like a rock.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a quick note btdubs the birthday thing is actually relevant. It comes up in the next chapter, so it's not something I threw in just for shits and giggles... just letting you know.... Can you tell I'm really tired?


	27. All Hell Breaks Loose: Part 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I know I know I know I know I know. Okay? I know. It's been WAY too long since I updated, and most of you have probably forgotten about this fic entirely and moved on with your lives. But for those of you who actually remembered the existence of the God Squad, you're probably expecting an adequate explanation. And my answer to that is: I don't have one. (I mean I AM starting college in like three weeks but that doesn't mean shit in the fanfic world let's be real.) But if you're still pissed at me for not writing, then know that I HAVE in fact been working on a completely different Destiel fanfic, which is in my opinion going to be like 500 times better than this one.
> 
> The beginning of this chapter I've had written for MONTHS, while the other I pretty much just got inspired like "you know what? I wanna update. TONIGHT." so i basically wrote the rest of it in like two hours so if it suddenly turns to even MORE crappy writing like halfway through... now you know why. (seriously I didn't even edit like half this shit I think I'm more anxious about this update than anyone here)
> 
> Have fun with this one, kids. And try to remember some long forgotten plot points that probably no one thought I was going to bring back into play.

Gabriel wove his way through the flood of intoxicated kids populating his house. The only thing that indicated this party had a purpose was the banner that Hannah had helped him paint and Lucifer helped him hang up earlier, wishing the youngest Novak a happy seventeenth birthday. However, it seemed to be all for naught, since said Novak had only been seen at the party for a total of fifteen minutes or less.

With the oldest siblings at home, their parents had decided it might be best for them to get out of all the chaos of a giant birthday party. Entrusting the house to their “dependable” legally adult son and daughter, they had left to go to a nice, peaceful dinner, toasting themselves for being nearly done raising children. Unbeknownst to them, Lucifer was mainly the one to provide the alcohol to the minors, while Hannah smacked him up the side of the head. Neither Hannah nor Gabriel had taken part in any of the drinking, and Cas seemed distracted from everything going on around him for the total of five minutes that anyone had seem him at his own party. 

Gabriel, nearly quitting his search for his little brother, entered the kitchen to refill his cup of Pepsi Max. He nearly jumped out of his skin when Meg wrapped her arms around him from the side with absolutely zero warning.

“Hey!” she dragged out the word, grinning at him.

“Shit, Meg, you scared me!” Gabe spilled the remainder of what was in his cup. 

“Gabe… Baby… hey,” she giggled, “Gaby Baby… heheheh…” she rested her forehead on Gabriel’s shoulder and kept laughing. Gabriel rolled his eyes when he smelled the vodka on her. He was about to lightly push her off, when she shamelessly shoved her hands down his pants.

“Oh, Jesus,” he gasped, trying to keep his self control in check. “Meg?”

“Yeah?” Meg whispered, a sudden lust in her voice. She shoved him against the wall without any hint of warning, and dragged them both down onto the floor.

Gabriel, slightly intimidated but not wanting to piss her off by pushing her away, sat up against the door of the refrigerator. While Meg wasn’t letting up on her sloppy kisses, Gabriel remembered his original mission.

“Meg?” he pulled back. “Have you seen Cas anywhere?”

Meg burst into a fit of laughter, like she knew all the secrets to the universe. “Didn’t you hear about that one kid?” she hiccupped, “Dan? Dean? Pfft, I don’t know.”

Gabriel rolled his eyes. “Winchester? Yeah. What about him?”

“I heard he got run over or something,” she shrugged, laying another wet one on Gabe before he had the chance to answer.

He pulled away once again, growing more frustrated. “I still don’t understand what this has to do with Cas.”

Meg cackled maniacally. She rolled onto the floor, clutching her sides.

“Meg!” Gabriel leaned over her, snapping his fingers in front of her face. “Hey! Want to tell me what’s going on?”

Meg finally looked back at her boyfriend with tears of laughter in her eyes. “Lol!” she teased, dragging out the last L, “they’re boyfriends!” 

Gabriel was truly unsure if he had heard her right. “What?!”

Meg nodded, with her stupid drunk grin still plastered to her face. She made an obscene gesture with her hands and rolled back over, continuing her cackling as if she knew it had just become a special form of torture for Gabriel.

Seeing red, Gabe shoved everyone out of his path as he grabbed his car keys and stormed out of the house. He wondered which hospital he needed to go to so he could kick someone’s ass.

***

“Castiel, what the  _ actual fuck?! _ ” Gabriel stormed into the room where he found his baby brother and  _ Dean fucking Winchester.  _ “I can’t even fucking  _ begin _ to- what- how- I am  _ livid _ , Cas! And I find out from  _ Meg _ ?! I knew you were banging a guy, Cas, but really?  _ This loser?!  _ And you,” Gabriel pointed at Dean, “you’re lucky you’re in that hospital bed, Winchester, ‘cause if you weren’t, I’d put you in one!”

“Hey!” Sam, who had grown to be taller than any of the Winchesters now, stood up and walked straight towards Gabriel. “You wanna try messing with my brother again, you have to go through me!”

Gabriel sized Sam up for a moment before a playful grin spread onto his face. “Well, well, well, I didn’t know you had a sasquatch in the family!”

“Gabriel!” Cas jumped to his feet.

“You motherfucker, I swear if I wasn’t-” Dean snarled, until Gabriel cut him off.

“No, no, it’s not an insult, I wish I was this tall…” Gabriel laughed, not taking his eyes off of Sam, who was becoming increasingly uncomfortable.

That was when Mary finally returned from the bathroom. 

“What’s going on?” 

“Mrs. Winchester, this is my brother Gabriel,” Cas explained with an unmatched venom in his voice, before Sam or Dean could answer.

Mary put her hands on her hips. “Oh, I see,” she nodded, a nasty look on her face. “So  _ you’re  _ the one who’s been bullying my son for the past three years.”

Gabriel let out a nervous laugh.  _ Shit. This is not gonna end well for me,  _ he thought.

“Gabe, would you check your phone, please?” Cas asked, sounding strangely calm, which earned him an equally strange look from Dean.

Gabriel did as he was told and found the text from his little brother, received one minute ago, and opened it. He cringed when he opened the three attachments. 

“ _ Jesus Christ,  _ Cas! Is that Meg?!”

“Yes,” he responded just as calmly as before, “feel free to send them to whomever you choose.”

Dean raised an eyebrow at Cas. “Care to share with the class?”

“Meg’s nudes. I kept them just in case something like this happened, remember?” Cas sat back in his seat. 

While the others all had their fair share of anger and confusion brewing in their heads, all Dean could think about was how absolutely fucked things were going to be once he got back to school in a couple weeks.

“Alright, you know what?” Gabe marched to Cas and grabbed him by his sleeve, pulling out of his chair and out the door. “You and I need to have a little chat.”

As soon as the two were out of earshot, Gabriel let go and faced him. 

Castiel leaned his back against the wall of the hospital hallway, eyes closed and chin up, as if he were making a conscious effort to look as indignant as possible. 

It took Gabriel a moment to filter everything he wanted to say that could possibly make Cas hate him forever. After a good twenty seconds or so of stewing in his emotions, he finally uttered one word: “ _ Explain. _ ”

“Explain what?” Castiel raised his eyebrows, eyes still closed, “you pretty much know everything now.” He refused to look at his brother.

“You know what I mean!” Gabe threw a few punches at the air in front of him. He took a deep breath before continuing. “Why don’t we start with a couple basics? How long has this been going on?”

“The whole school year,” Cas answered without hesitation. 

Gabriel paused. “Excuse me?”

Castiel couldn’t help but start laughing. “You know, I find it so interesting how absolutely pissed you are at me for being in love with Dean, but you get to sleep around with any slut you find and no one bats an eye. Do you even realize how screwed up that is?”

Gabriel struggled to find a good answer. “I-”

“No,” Cas shook his head at his brother, looking him in the eyes without fear. “I’m not interested in hearing what you have to say. The one I love almost  _ died _ a couple days ago, and the last time I talked to him before that we were having a stupid fight because I was ashamed to let other people know about us. I’m through with it. I’m done with being afraid to show that I love him (yes, Gabriel, I  _ love him _ ) because of dicks like you who think it’s cool to put people down and trip them in hallways and- I mean what the  _ fuck _ is up with that?” He looked at his brother incredulously, years of emotion pouring out all at once. 

“Why do you still do that? You know what those kids did to me in middle school, Gabe! I thought you would have outgrown that fifth-grade shit, especially after seeing it happen to me. And then you turn around and do the exact same thing to good people like Dean? God, what is your fucking  _ damage _ ?” 

The two stared at each other for a few moments, Gabriel looking like a dog with its tail between its legs.

“You know what? Fuck this- fuck  _ you, _ ” Castiel hissed as he spun on his heels and left Gabriel in the dust.

Cas stormed back into the hospital room in the midst of a very heated (and whispered) conversation between the Winchester family. He made a beeline to Dean, placing a hand on one cheek and kissing the other quickly. 

“I’ll be back tomorrow. Love you,” Cas said flatly, still trying to calm down after all the emotional baggage he just dumped on his brother. He left the room before Dean even had a chance to respond. 


	28. For the Love of Chuck

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Shipping wars make shipping hands unclean." ~William Shakespeare
> 
> Remember in Mean Girls when Regina released the burn book? It's kind of like that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m really sorry this took me literal months to update and that it's so short. But the good news is, we’re almost to the end! (Unless y’all want a sequel because I do have an idea or two shhhhhhh) Yeah my only real excuse is that I’m in college now and it’s probably only gonna get worse. I’ve also had another full length fanfiction that I’ve been working on sometimes instead of this one because, not to play favorites, but I like that one better. That one I will post all at once when I have it completely finished.
> 
> For now though, I really just want to get something posted so 1) y’all don’t forget that I exist 2) I don’t forget that this exists and 3) I really, REALLY want to finish this. Like that’s my prime motivation for finishing this is to just say that I finished it. (plus you know I don’t want everyone who’s read and subscribed to this to be pissed at me, and I’ve had the entire plot mapped out since the very beginning of this venture). BUT I do have a goal now to finish this bitch by Thanksgiving. So, if it seems by my writing that I'm a lil sleep deprived, you know why. (lol who am i kidding every time i update it's literally past 2 AM im always sleep deprived hahahahahaha)
> 
> So yeah I’m sorry this chapter is so short and that you had to wait so long for this garbage. But on the bright side, the next chapter is the last, and then there will be an epilogue, which I already have partially written. Have fun fam.

When Dean returned to Garrison High School midweek, whatever he had imagined was nothing like what he actually walked into. He felt like he was going to pass out simply from the expected daily volume of the halls, but as soon as he set foot inside, every head turned to him and every voice was silenced for about five seconds before the noise resumed tenfold.

That was just the main entrance.

Halfway to his first class, he saw Meg running to the bathroom, the only place she might be safe from the sneers of cheerleaders and the catcalls of fuckboys who had all seen her breasts thanks to Cas, who was unfortunate enough to be in her way mid-flight. Cas had hardly noticed her before she was clawing and screaming at him. She had to be pulled off by Anna, who ushered her hysterical friend to the bathroom.

Dean rushed to his boyfriend and grabbed him by the arm. “Cas, what the hell is going on?” his eyes darting around at the chaos surrounding them.

“I don’t know,” Cas admitted. 

“Is this what Hell looks like?” Dean mused, gripping Cas a little tighter, part in anxiety and another part in trying to fight off the dizziness sweeping over him.

“Where I come from,” Charlie said, popping out of nowhere and grabbing each of their spare hands, “we call this a shipping war. And it’s the most intense I’ve ever seen,” She dragged the two into the closest part of the hallway they could find that wasn’t completely out of hand. 

“Oh, Christ,” Dean shakes his head. He’s unfortunate enough to know exactly what that means. He explains it to Cas, who isn’t as deep in fandom hell as the other two. 

“I still don’t understand,” Cas asks, “what is everyone fighting over?” 

“Whether they think you two make a better couple, or you and Meg,” Charlie explains. “I know, it’s totally ridiculous. But hey, who am I to deny people of some good old fashioned discourse?” 

The boys stared at her in bewilderment.

“I know!” Charlie sighed, “I know it’s bad. I mean look! Becky is already making a profit off you guys!” 

She pointed out Becky coming down the hall, two plastic bags in hand, each full of custom buttons. In one, the buttons had in giant print: TEAM MEGSTIEL. In the other: TEAM DESTIEL. Even from their distance, the three of them could see her handing out these pins to people requesting them, and for each one, Becky shoved another dollar bill in her purse.

“You gotta admit though,” Charlie shrugged, “she knows how to spot and seize an opportunity…” 

Dean and Cas stared at her again.

“What?”

Dean pointed to the TEAM DESTIEL pin he had just spotted on her backpack. “Really?”

“I’m supporting my friends!” she crossed her arms over her chest.

Cas blinked. “Are we friends?”

Charlie sighed again and pursed her lips. “I suppose, but don’t tell anyone.”

“I hate to break up the precious moment,” Crowley appeared near them, “but you all might want to get control of your pal over there,” he pointed out Jo confronting Becky not too far away.

No one could hear what Jo was yelling about, but she certainly was yelling, and it didn’t take long for Becky to scream back. Meg joined the calamity soon after, just returning from the bathroom. Meg and Jo ripped the bags out of Becky’s hands, and the trio watching a few yards away gasped in unison. Becky shoved both of them before they retaliated.

Moments later, Ellen had to pull all three of the girls off of each other. She had her daughter’s wrist in a death grip as she barked over the hallway din: “THAT’S IT! ALL THREE OF YOU ARE COMING WITH ME!”

***

The three girls sat in a row in Principal Shurley’s office, Becky in the middle, Jo on her left and Meg on her right. Mrs. Harvelle leaned against the wall on the far right side of the room. All four of them had their arms folded across their chests, while the principal sat twiddling his thumbs, thinking long and hard about what to say. 

“Honestly, girls,” he finally spoke, “I’m shocked. There’s just nothing else I can say. I’m extremely disappointed in all three of you.”

“What did  _ I  _ do?!” Becky pleaded.

“Selling stuff on school property.”

“But it’s not drugs or anything! They were just custom buttons!”

“It’s still illegal, in case you weren’t aware! You just can’t do that at school, at least not without my permission.”

Meg spoke up next to her. “So why am I here? I’m just a victim in this situation. I’m the they’ve been harassing.”

“Oh really?” Jo leaned forward in her seat to look at Meg. “Really, Meg?  _ You’re _ being harassed? That must be so horrible, huh? Much more horrible than-”

“You, Ms. Masters,” Chuck said, cutting off Jo’s rant, “Mrs. Harvelle told me all about what’s been going on with you. Now I haven’t seen anything with my own eyes but from what I hear, it qualifies as child pornography, which is not to be taken lightly, and, if it comes to it, get you thrown in juvenile hall. The same goes for you, young lady!” he then turned to Jo. “Assault? Really, Jo? I expected more from you.”

Jo scoffed. “So she and her friends can shove my friends into lockers and call them names on the daily and get off scot free, but I stand up for them once and suddenly I can get thrown in jail?”

“Ms. Harvelle…”

“No! I call bullshit!”

“Young lady, watch your mouth!” Ellen barked.

“No! Fuck this! I’m out!” Jo grabbed her bag and was halfway to the door until:

“JOANNA BETH HARVELLE YOU SIT BACK DOWN RIGHT NOW.”

She sat back down.

“Now as far as I’m concerned,” Chuck continued, his frustration reaching new heights, “all three of you will be receiving disciplinary action. Ms. Masters, you will be suspended for two weeks and reported to the authorities.” 

Meg rolled her eyes, but said nothing.

“Ms. Rosen, you’ll have a week’s detention. As for the young Harvelle, considering your mother is one of my colleagues, I can’t really escape from discussing the matter with her, so for now we’ll have to just call it TBD,” Chuck rubbed his brow, trying to conceal his annoyance with the entire situation.

Meg was sent home from school and reported. Jo was also told to go home, but she couldn’t very well do that without her mother or another friend driving her, both options being otherwise preoccupied.

Becky’s remaining pins were confiscated, but that did nothing to diminish the sentiment of them still bubbling throughout Garrison High.


	29. Curtain Call

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here it is.... the last.... official...... chapter......... There's a short epilogue coming in... an undetermined amount of time. But I already have a chunk of it written. If I were slightly more productive today and weren't insanely tired I'd be posting them at the same time, but... these things do 'appen. 
> 
> Huge, huge, huge thanks to everyone reading this. You guys have kept me going with this so long and I'm so excited to finally be finishing this after two very long, hard years since I started this. I love you all so much.

Tech week of Garrison High School’s production of West Side Story was now upon them, and it showed in every member of the cast and crew. Things on the social scene had died down just enough for everyone to move on with their lives after Principal Shurley intervened.

In the meantime, Cas and Dean had taken to sitting together during lunch, claiming their own spot on the floor against a wall in an otherwise crowded cafeteria. Neither of them were quite sold on PDA yet, so they usually kept that down to hand-holding at the most. They didn’t talk much, but they could agree that sitting alone together in comfortable silence on a not-so-comfortable floor was infinitely better than trying to sit at a table with either of their cliques in a silence that would be much less pleasant. Most days, especially early on in tech week, Dean would find Cas already sitting in the corner, sit down close to him, and eat an individual size bag of chips before accidentally falling asleep on Cas’s shoulder. At the end of the lunch period, Cas would lightly shake Dean awake, whispering sweetness in his ear until Dean struggled to his feet and the two said goodbye for the day, and Cas wished him a good rehearsal.

After the car wreck, Dean still had some trouble moving normally for quite some time. The director of the musical insisted Dean stay home while his understudy stepped in for him, but Dean pushed through, determined to put on the show, even if it meant talking with the choreographer about tweaking some of the dance moves so he could perform with minimal pain or affect on the healing process.

When opening night was finally upon them, the drama was rampant throughout the theatre department. Everyone was whispering behind everyone’s back. Mainly about Dean.

Lisa, her hair already done and in the process of applying her stage makeup, sat at a table that was made into an extra makeshift dressing station in the green room with Alfie, Crowley, and Adam. She looked into a cheap mirror propped up against the wall as she filled her eyebrows, talking over her shoulder to the boys.

“I really hope Dean can pull through this. I mean he’s never done a real show in his life and now on top of it he can hardly function?” she scoffed.

“You know he won’t, sweetie,” Crowley sang.

“Hey,” Alfie chimed in with everlasting faith in his friend, “Dean’s a great actor he can do this.”

“Whatever you say...” Adam sassed from the corner.

As Alfie swallowed a snarky rebuttal, Dean finally made it to the green room, late for his call, which only added to the judgement from his castmates. Most of the room’s conversations stopped when he entered.

“Break a leg sweetheart!” Crowley chided. Dean did his best to ignore him. He still felt guilty about the incident in the cafeteria a few weeks back.

Dean set down his backpack at his designated cramped spot in the dressing room. He pulled out his phone and sent a group chat to Charlie, Benny, and Jo, who after everything he decided a couple weeks ago that it was best to come clean to about his extracurricular activities.

**To: Group**

**\---hey guys r u gonna see the play tonight?---**

Dean was already done with his stage makeup and working on his hair by the time any of them responded; conveniently all at once.

**From: Charlie**

**\---heck yeah i’m going!!!!---**

**From: Jo**

**\---I’m technically grounded but i’ll see if i still can---**

**To: Group**

**\---awesome! see you guys there. or at least charlie. Benny?---**

**From: Charlie**

**\---Bennyyyyyyyyy plz i dont wanna be alone in the large crowds save me---**

**From: Benny:**

**\---yall kno i have a tes** **t on monday right---**

**From: Jo**

**\---my mom says she kinda has to go? since she like? works here? and she doesnt trust me alone anymore so im going too---**

**From: Benny**

**\---k ill go---**

A new text came in outside the group.

**From: Angel**

**\---Break a leg babe!---**

**From: Angel**

**\---Oh and btw I might have convinced some people to fill the seats tonight.---**

**From: Angel**

**\---Hope you don’t mind---**

Dean saw this and paused. After a moment of panic about the most judgemental people he’s ever met seeing him possibly- no, almost certainly- make a fool of himself onstage, he decided it was better for ticket sales and therefore the theatre department as a whole if he didn’t protest it.

**To: Angel**

**\---thanks babe <3---**

***

Charlie was right about the crowds, thanks to Cas’s endorsement of the fine arts when he was seen first in line to buy a ticket to West Side Story at lunch. The Nerd Herd sat together as close to the stage as they could get, with Benny squished in the middle of the two girls. The God Squad ended up sitting two rows behind them, Cas sitting closest to the people he still wished he could be friends with.

The curtain lifted. Dean’s phone was blowing up with texts asking where the hell he was. He didn’t see them. His phone was shut off, and he was already in the wings.

The first number ended, and Dean made his entrance. Charlie held in a squeal of excitement. By the end of his first song, the entire gang was beaming with pride. His movements and choreography were obviously stilted, but he kept his character together well enough. Cas winced with sympathy when he noticed this, but was proud of him all the same.

_“There’s a place for us,_

_Somewhere, a place for us,”_

Dean and Lisa sang and held hands, bringing most of the audience to tears in the second act, but none more than Cas, who did his best to hide his emotions from the people next to him. Near the end of the song, Jo stared at her friend on the stage; not quite in tears, but definitely choked up. Benny hesitantly reached for her hand, and she held it with an iron grip until the lights came up at the end of the show.

***

The doors outside the auditorium were crowded with family and friends impatiently waiting for the cast and crew to come out of the theatre.

Dean wedged himself past the most concentrated parts of the crowd, beaming as he accepted congratulations and pats on the back from parents of other cast members and other Garrison High students he barely knew. Other cast members were asking him to pose for pictures when just three hours ago they were talking about him in the dressing room. He expected the popularity and appreciation wouldn’t last much past the night, but he savored it.

Once he got out of the crowd, he waved to his mom and brother, who rushed over to him. Mary squealed and pulled him into a crushing hug.

“I’m so proud of you!” she squeezed him.

Dean laughed and hugged her back. Over her shoulder he saw the Nerd Herd, Becky, and Garth talking in a circle. Garth pointed to Dean and the rest of the group turned their heads. They exploded into cheers and ran towards him. Dean patted his mom on the back and let go of her to give Sam a hug and mess up his hair. He had barely accomplished this before Charlie lept onto him like a spider monkey.

“Ow! Ow! Okay, okay, I love you too!” he groaned as she reluctantly let go. As he recovered, Garth approached him and gave him a pat on the shoulder.

“You were amazing, Dean!” Garth smiled before pulling Dean into a soft hug. Becky also congratulated him before the two of them said goodnight and left him to his other friends.

“I’m really glad you came, man,” Dean said.

“Of course, brother,” Benny gave him a high five and pulled him into a classic bro-hug. “You know,” Benny pulled away, “I’m not usually into the whole play thing, but that was somethin’ else.”

“Thanks,” Dean smiled.

Jo thrusted a bouquet of yellow roses into Dean’s hands. Dean held onto them, at a slight loss for words.

“We all chipped in a little bit,” she smirked, “good job, kid.”

Dean returned the sly smile. He raised his arms and took a step towards her.

Jo’s eyes widened in recognition. “No. No!” she laughed and took a step backwards.

Dean nodded. “Oh yeah, it’s gonna happen,” he said and closed the gap, wrapping his arms around her in a hug.

“I’m still kinda mad at you, you know,” she said, her voice muffled in his chest.

Dean sighed. “Yeah, I know.”

It wasn’t very long into their conversation that a familiar pair of arms draped over Dean’s shoulders from behind. Dean turned to face Cas and put his hands on his hips, while Cas’s hands moved to cup Dean’s face.

“Hey there, stranger,” Dean grinned.

“Hey there,” Cas pecked Dean on the lips. They stared into each other’s eyes while everyone else around them faded away. Cas gently massaged the back of Dean’s neck. “You were wonderful. So how tired are you?”

“Ugh,” Dean fake-sighed, “so tired,” he rested his head on Cas’s shoulder. Cas started giggling and running his fingers through Dean’s hair.

Their friends started to form their own circle again, Sam included this time. Eventually, the lobby was mostly cleared and it was time to go home. Ellen agreed to give Benny and Charlie rides home, and Mary was at least able to get one of her kids halfway out of the door.

“Dean!” Sam shouted, “we’re leaving now!”

Dean snapped back to reality just long enough to yell back: “yeah, yeah, gimme a second...”

Jo was the last to follow her mom out of the building. She stopped next to Sam to take a defeated look at Dean and the boyfriend she never thought she could possibly approve of. “They really do love each other, don’t they?” she sighed.

“Yeah,” Sam smiled, “they really do.”


	30. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IT'S FINALLY HERE. Boy, the last 18 months have really kicked my ass but IT'S HERE. I FINISHED IT. and get this, I LEFT AN OPENING FOR A SEQUEL. What's even more amazing is that YOU are still reading this! Holy shit! Sorry for keeping you waiting!! 
> 
> If you would be interested in reading a sequel to this story, (the characters are adults and it's gonna be HELLA angsty), leave a comment saying so!

Charlie Bradbury was the fifth name called in the graduation ceremony. She had a skip in her step when she walked up to collect her diploma.

The next notable person called up was Lisa Braeden, followed by Garth Fitzgerald, Jo Harvelle, Benny Lafitte, Meg Masters, Adam Milligan, Castiel Novak, (who caused an enormous round of applause), and Rebecca Rosen. The very last of the graduates to receive his diploma was Dean Winchester.

“YEAH! GO DEAN!” Sam hollered as his big brother walked up to the podium, looking too stupid in his cap and gown for Sam _not_ to take a picture. Next to him in the crowd were (of course) Mary, Bobby, Jess, and Kevin. One row in front of them was the Novak family, with whom the Winchester clan were able to make surprisingly good conversation before the event began.

After the ceremony, Dean, Cas, and the Nerd Herd clung to each other as their families all swarmed around them. The two lovebirds had their arms around each other the entire time.

“Alright kids,” Ellen said as she pulled out her camera, “huddle up! Cas, you too, get in there!” Cas stepped back into the frame, putting an arm around Charlie.

After a rather lengthy photoshoot, the graduates piled into the Impala, fully restored to all her glory since the crash. Cas sitting shotgun and Jo squished in the middle of the bench seat in the back with Benny on her right and Charlie on her left.

“Alright!” Dean’s voice boomed through the car, shutting everyone up. “So, we just got out of that hell hole, and now we’ve got two and a half months free until Charlie, Jo, and I start college-”

“KU baby!” Jo shouted, “YEET!”

Dean nodded and held up a fist, “Cas goes into the Air Force, and Benny does… whatever the hell Benny’s gonna do.”

“Hey!” Benny laughed from the back, “y’all know I’m going to KU too, right?”

“Yeah, but we’re hardly gonna see you,” Jo whined and squeezed his hand.

Benny blinked in confusion, “why’s that?”

“Because you said so yourself,” Charlie leaned forward to look at him, “you’re taking night classes, remember?”

“You guys, relax,” Cas chimed in, “Benny’s just going through a critical yet very dangerous stage in his transformation into a vampire is all! He can’t take any risks with the sun!” Everyone started giggling.

“Yeah hey Benny,” Dean turned around, “next time we see you should we be expecting fangs? Or do you only pull those out for Jo?”

“Ooooooohhh!!!” Charlie and Cas yelled, and Jo’s cheeks turned bright red.

Benny bared his teeth in a grin and hissed at Dean.

After calming down from the laughter, Dean finished his big question, a more solemn look on his face. “We only have ten weeks until all of us go off into different directions. After that, there’s no guarantee that any of us are going to see each other regularly anymore. You know, we’re all gonna be off living our own adult lives and stuff.” By now the rest of the occupants of the Impala were equally glum-looking. “But I guess my question right now is… What are we gonna do until then?”

They all looked at each other in silence for a minute, giving serious thought to the question. Then a huge smile broke onto Cas’s face, his chin pointed down and his eyes looking sheepishly up at his friends, like he had just discovered the world’s greatest secret. “Whatever the fuck we want.”

Dean straightened his shoulders. He pursed his lips and nodded in consideration before he spoke. “Honey,” he said, with a very serious expression, “That is an _excellent_ plan.

“Yeah, a wrestling theatre kid, an angel, a vampire, a knife collector, and the Queen of the Queers, all set loose on the world.” Benny smiled. “What could go wrong?”

The friends all broke into giggles once again as Dean started the car. “Alright so WHAT DO WE WANNA DO FIRST?!” Dean yelled over the sound of Taylor Swift blasting from the car radio.

“Oh, I know!” Jo jumped in her seat. “Let’s steal a stop sign!”

“Now, now, let’s not get too hasty,” Dean held up a finger.

“How about laser tag?” Cas suggested. Charlie muttered in the back about food and the entire car was flooding with ideas, both rational and implausible.

The alumni of Garrison High drove into the sunset, and into the best summer of their lives. And after an unfortunate number of years (and unprecedented shitstorms), Dean and Castiel lived happily ever after.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you from the bottom of my heart for reading this story. Part of me believed I would never get around to finishing this, my first full-length fanfiction, three years ago when I thought up this project. But the fact that you all kept subscribing leaving kudos and the /sweetest/ comments has meant so much to me and ensured that I finished this and kept writing. I am so so grateful for every one of you that has spent even a minute of your time on this story, whether you're one of my friends that may or may not have helped me write it, or a complete stranger halfway across the world from me. You are all wonderful and I love you very much. Thank you. <3


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